Finding the courage to embrace change: 15 inspirational quotes
Businesses are struggling to survive, education has been upended, and divorce rates are on the rise. These are trying times. As the world around us evolves, the values we’ve spent much of our lives living by and clinging to are being thrown into question. Is there another way? A better way to live, to learn, and to love? Perhaps, but we’ll never know unless we’re willing to embrace change — and change can be pretty darn scary.
To embrace change, we must be willing to let go.
Dare I say it, we must be willing to suffer — at least a little.
Last summer, I had a lengthy conversation about suffering while visiting my Wolfe Island friends (who are, I might add, anything but insufferable).
We talked about suffering not in a hopeless kind of way but in a hopeful kind of way. We talked about how everything, absolutely everything, has a cost. The question isn’t what pain you want to avoid but rather, what pain are you willing to work through in order to find the peace you seek.
In case the cost is making it hard for you to embark on any transitions you’re called towards in your shifting reality, here are some inspirational quotes that I hope will inspire you to stay the course, to follow your heart, and embrace change in the spirit of living your fullest, happiest, most meaningful life.
I usually save the best for last.
Nope. Can’t do it. I don’t want to risk you not scrolling down far enough to catch this gem, which literally prompted me to place my hand on my heart and inhale deeply:
“She knew this transition was not about becoming someone better but about finally allowing herself to become who she’d always been.” (Anonymous)
Now, for those of you who believe in your self-worth yet struggle to embrace change, here’s one to keep in mind:
“Transitioning is a radical act of self-love.” (Anonymous)
Go ahead. Be radical. There’s no greater love than self-love. Brace yourself though. As the saying goes, no pain, no gain:
“The future is always all around us, waiting, in moments of transitions, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain.” ( J. Michael Straczynski)
Am I there yet?
As a child, how many times did you pose this question to your parents?
Here’s the thing. If you believe in personal growth, you’re never going to get there. It’s about being here. Here, at this very point in your journey, at this very moment in time. To decide that here is there — i.e. that here is your ultimate destination for all eternity — means closing your mind to future transformation:
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” (Henri Bergson)
About letting go.
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” (Maria Robinson)
I love that quote. It says it’s never too late. Quiet those would’ve, could’ve, should’ve voices in your head and look in one direction only: forward. Speaking of which, what will you do next?
“The best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.” (Theodore Roosevelt)
I know, I know. Doing nothing can seem way easier. Even if you’ve only got a so-so thing going on right now, at least it’s a certain so-so thing, right? But here’s the thing:
“You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea.” (C. JoyBell C.)
To reiterate what I said earlier, it’s not a question of what pain you wish to avoid but rather, what pain you’re willing to work through:
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” (N. R. Narayana Murthy)
Baby, you were born to fly.
You were also born to dance:
“We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.” (LeeAnn Taylor)
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” (Alan Watts)
You were not born to fight.
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” (Socrates)
Remember, though, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Transition is a process. Do the work. Be patient. Good things come to those who wait:
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” (Robin Sharma)
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” (Jim Rohn)
By the way, I saved the second-best for last.
You are sacred. Your aspirations are sacred. Let your journey be sacred, too:
“Honor the space between no longer and not yet.” (Nancy Levin)
Viv for today xo
Originally published at http://vivfortoday.com on January 5, 2021.
