Resistance to change happens, but it keeps windows open.
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The consistent observation is that people resist change in almost every situation.
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We all talk about change, but resistance to change is more forceful than pressing for change, as experiences suggest. The result is that the majority live an average life, while a few show what the majority has missed. Note this quote:
Most of us have two lives. The life we live and the unlived life within us stand between us, but between the two stands resistance. Steven Pressfield.
Is a change avoidable? No, it is hugely desirable, but the majority love to stay where they are, and they feel immensely insecure about moving out of their existing position. Obstacles lie here.
Some of the most common reasons for denying change are highlighted below, along with windows of possibility for change.
1. What we know is final.
This is the worst kind of resistance that is keeping people hooked on what they are. They are okay with a little knowledge and their own patterns of living, including food, clothing, celebrations, and above all, lifestyles. They have kept all windows for change tightly shut. In fact, they are perturbed even to see minor changes in the coming generations.
2. Education is a great tool for change.
Education is the only tool that has brought about major changes in our living conditions. However, as seen, education has limited power to influence values, beliefs, mindsets, and what people have imbibed since childhood. That is why educated people with limited surroundings often feel superior without examining on what basis they are superior. They never hesitate to label others as inferior just on the grounds of some transferred faith or value.
3. Fight for the just and the unjust.
One person is not fair in dealing, but he or she is cursing when others are unfair. It puzzles me when a person living in messy conditions asks kids to keep everything in an orderly manner. Many of us swiftly jump to right and wrong, making the debate never-ending. All conflicts today oscillate between correct and incorrect. A great barrier to change.
4. Fault finders
Fault-finders have no time to see whether they are free from those deficiencies themselves. They are not bothered by their own bad manners, opaque transactions, or poor handling of affairs, but they put others in the wrong boxes every now and then to prove their own worth.
5. Absence of learning new things
Learning is a powerful source for change. When we stop learning, we stop expanding our understanding. People resist change because they argue with old concepts and knowledge. Learning is a lifelong process that we should not abandon in any phase of our lives.
6. Tagging change with monetary gains
People ask for monetary benefits first and keep moral, social, and other larger benefits in a secondary position. This aspect must be examined at the individual level.
7. Not ready for discomfort
Any change starts with some kind of discomfort. If we ask someone to leave bed early to enjoy the morning, it causes discomfort. Mental and physical benefits come afterward.
8. Breaking habits
If someone has lost the habit of reading a book, restoring it is the heaviest task. If someone is not health conscious, he is not maintaining discipline in the quality and quantity of food items as well as the timing of meals. Persuasion is a tool to effect change, but it works with little success.
9. One statement does wonders.
People are saying that a particular narrative on that occasion has changed their lives. It happens, but there are very few people in this category. The majority does not listen. When they listened, they forgot. Outcome: They learn nothing.
10. Who is saying
It is very important for almost all of us to know who has said it and whether he or she is our favorite. People select a few personalities to whom they will listen or read. Even then, it is not necessary to follow them. It is a common setback. The reality is that it is a design not to change; it makes no difference what they say.
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Change takes time to happen. Self-motivation works faster than coaching and preaching. Efforts must continue, as some people are keeping windows for change open, and on this strength, things in this world are moving forward.
