Embracing Change

I came across this quote the other day that ignited a fire in my spirit. “Ten years from now, make sure you can say that you chose your life, not that you settled for it.” 

I can easily recall numerous times over the past few years when I settled for something that was comfortable instead of what could help me grow. I had convinced myself that wanting more was asking for too much, and lost the part of me that enjoyed change to the fear of what could go wrong. Now the possibility of what could go right drives me to act differently. 

I strongly believe that you will never be happy with more if you don’t appreciate who and what you already have. I used to let that belief stop me from wanting anything to change because I thought it meant I would be losing what I had worked so hard to build and hold on to. But I’ve also come to realize that if you want what already exists in your life to be fruitful, you have to nourish it by serving the people around you and experiencing new things with them. You can’t become complacent with the knowledge that they’re always going to be there for you and stop making an effort to grow with them. The same can be said for your career, passions, and anything else in life.

I’ve watched the love and respect in my relationships with friends and family become immensely deeper from simply embracing change with them and learning how to be supportive in new ways when life brought unexpected circumstances. I’ve won awards with my coworkers for the work we created from being in a job position that I could have rejected a year and a half ago out of fear that I wouldn’t be good enough. I now find joy in saying yes to things and being present in the moment instead of worrying about the future. Settling isn’t an option anymore and that makes me unbelievably excited for what could happen each day, especially with God guiding me through it all. 

–Chloë