When the wind of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills

Янтураев Даниил Александрович ГМУ 3-20-03

When the wind of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.

"When the wind of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills" says a Chinese proverb. And what do you do in such cases? Are you hiding or overcoming fear, trying new things? Let's try to reflect on this.

Today we often hear talk about how good it is to live in an atmosphere of stability and clarity, but many people confuse this very "stability" with stagnation. They want nothing to change around them, because they are afraid of change. Is it worth it? Maybe it is conservation that needs to be feared, which does not give new opportunities and cannot protect the old ones from imminent depreciation?

Before proceeding to the discussion on this, it is necessary to understand two things: changes are natural, but it is no less natural to be afraid of them. This is what nature itself has conceived, having evolutionarily implanted in us a sense of self-preservation. Striving for a stable, measured life is more attractive and comfortable physically and psychologically than changes whose outcome is not obvious. And this, by the way, is the first reason why we are wary when we learn about changes — the fear of the unknown wakes up in us. The questions begin to torment: "And if it doesn't work out? And if it doesn't get better? And if it only gets worse?"

Secondly, any changes are always a way out of the comfort zone. The very idea of having to leave something familiar behind is frightening. You will have to get used to the new, and the brain realizes in advance that the formation of new habits is a lot of work on the formation of new neural connections. Waste of energy, resources... what if something goes wrong? Naturally, processing these facts at lightning speed, faster, the body automatically turns on the stress mode.

Thirdly, any change is not only a way out of the comfort zone, but also a change in you as a person, and we are not always ready to learn something new about ourselves. Here it is only necessary to realize that changes, especially internal ones, are more than normal (even desirable!), because life without development does not lead to anything good.

I think it's time to stop being afraid of change! Instead, we need to learn to accept any changes with our heads held high, because the courage to accept changes is an important quality of a successful person of the XXI century.

In addition, it is also important that the more we think about changes, the more we are afraid of them, and we are often limited by stereotypes. A simple example: it is generally believed that men are more predisposed to the exact sciences than women, whose lot is the humanities. the male brain is more predisposed, while the girl's road lies to more humanitarian disciplines. It is not surprising that sometimes even very capable people have doubts like "Will I, a girl, cope with the profession of a developer", or "How will society perceive me, a man, if, say, I decide to teach literature at a university".

Therefore, on the way to overcoming your fear, in my opinion, it is important first of all to get rid of the framework. If you feel predisposed to something, but are afraid of public opinion, act! Everyone makes mistakes, especially at first, but it's much more important what happens as a result. As soon as you decide to take at least a small step, it will become a little easier, but it is important not to stop at this moment. The brain, as a rule, repeats the actions to which it is accustomed, and thus loses the learning skill over time. New activities, any changes accelerate the most different parts of the brain, and it does not matter how old you are. It used to be believed that the older a person gets, the more difficult it is for him to get something new. However, recent studies show that it is difficult to learn if you have never done it before, but if you regularly challenge your brain, both in childhood, and in adulthood, and old age, then we are not talking about any difficulties.

Of course, it also happens that changes do not lead to the results that you planned to achieve. Perhaps you have overlooked some important detail, or external circumstances have influenced what is happening. If something like this happens to you, remember that negative results are a common part of life.

Thus, summing up all of the above, I would like to note that it is pointless to be afraid of changes, because it is much more terrible to stand in one place and become a victim of your conservatism, so you should not be afraid of changes, because they are natural and necessary for both humanity and an individual. Without them it is impossible to develop and move forward, without them it is impossible to achieve anything worthwhile. We must be able to adapt to new realities and take risks to become happy. On the path of change in general, there is only one rule: accept the fact that fear is normal, but always find the strength to overcome it. Of course, you do not need to climb where it will obviously only get worse, otherwise what is the point of your efforts? But if you feel that it will "burn out", then most likely it will!

Returning to the statement, I would like to draw attention to the fact that on the one hand, windmills during changes are progress, an opportunity to develop on the waves of change, to use them competently, and to build a wall is to try to grasp the old and resist everything new, sometimes inevitable, thereby losing strength and time. However, on the other hand, windmills are an attempt to adapt to circumstances, to an external force, and a wall is an opportunity to preserve what exists without succumbing to external pressure.

Choose the interpretation that is close to you, its superimposition on modern realities in the world and act!

Translation:

«Когда дует ветер перемен, одни ставят стены, другие — ветряные мельницы», — так гласит китайская пословица. А как в подобных случаях поступаете вы? Прячетесь или же, преодолевая страх, пробуете новое? Давайте попробуем поразмышлять над этим.

Сегодня мы часто слышим разговоры о том, как хорошо жить в атмосфере стабильности и ясности, однако многие люди путают эту самую «стабильность» с застоем. Им хочется, чтобы ничего вокруг не менялось, потому что они боятся перемен. А стоит ли? Может, страшиться нужно именно консервации, которая не дает новых возможностей и не может уберечь старые от неминуемого обесценивания?