Transit

“How we transition in the face of change, determines the linearity and acceleration of our growth” – Sophie Oduyale

There are times in our lives where we are faced with the opportunity to experience something new that may present itself in the form of a new environment, job or even a relationship. And it has come to my attention that we sometimes struggle to take on these new challenges due to the fear of the unknown, myself included.

It is of course human nature to react hostilely towards the prospect of change, especially when it involves removing ourselves from our comfort zone but one thing we must recognise is that change is inevitable and as such we have been engineered with an innate instinctive to adapt to change over a period of time. I remember as a 14 year old being told by my parents that we were moving to a new country, leaving all we had behind – friends, family and so on. This news erupted a mixture of emotions inside of me; as a youngster I was excited about the likelihood of making new friends and possibly having more opportunities in life but at the same time, the prospects of living in another man’s land for possibly the rest of my life left me feeling overwhelmed. With questions such as how will I fit in? What will people think of me? Lingering over my thoughts.   

My point is in the face of change; we are left excited or overwhelmed either singularly or simultaneously.  And sometimes we begin to question whether the risk is worth taking.

What makes us stand out is how we deal with what we are faced with, do we welcome it with an open heart or do we shy away because we are afraid of letting go and experiencing that which is new. How do you transition from your comfort zone to something that is greater? How will you experience the beauty of life if you remain set in your ways, unwilling to explore and experience?

Have you been in that place where you say to yourself my life seems to be dull....Well what are you doing about it? Are you taking on new challenges or merely just sulking away?

The point is we have all been presented with so many life opportunities that may have paved the way for bigger life opportunities but in our fear, we have let these opportunities slip away and so we remain the same, living in the cocoon of our comfort not realising that life is passing us by, not realising that we are imprisoning ourselves from growing emotionally, spiritually, characteristically.

How do we expect to grow, if we don’t take up these challenges? Not every challenge or opportunity we are presented with, will yield great success or fulfilment but if we don’t take that chance, how will we ever know. How do we learn, grow or even help others?

The importance of welcoming change is that we learn a lot about ourselves especially when we embrace it with an open heart. We sure will make mistakes as no one is perfect but in lieu that we learn from them, we become better persons with greater knowledge. As such, we have the ability to share our experiences with others in order to encourage them in their life journey.

Ergo, the next time you are faced with a challenge don’t hide in fear but rather ponder on this quote and ultimately, take that leap of faith.

Sophie Oduyale