Silran's Playground

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Change is always a funny thing; we fear it and yet we crave it.
On the one hand, we as humans get bored and as it seems, boredom can kill you:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20100208/981/tsc-boredom-can-kill-you.html

As this excerpt states:
"Scientists said that this could be a result of those unhappy with their lives turning to such unhealthy habits as smoking or drinking, which would cut their life expectancy."

But on the other hand, we also fear change and prefer things to be just the way we are.

Why do people fear change?

Well as state here: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/change_resistance.html

"Most people don't like change because they don't like being changed. When change comes into view, fear and resistance to change follow – often despite its obvious benefits."


People fight against change because they:

*

Fear to lose something they value, or
*

Don’t understand the change and its implications, or
*

Don’t think that the change makes sense, or
*

Find it difficult to cope with either the level or pace of the change.3

Resistance emerges when there s a threat to something the individual values. The threat may be real or it may be just a perception. It may arise from a genuine understanding of the change or from misunderstanding, or even almost total ignorance about it.

So how does that fare for this "modern" and technological society where computers become nearly obsolete in one year? Where the social media "fad" becomes yesterday's news?
Younger people seem to fare better, they are completely fad oriented (remember what was cool last year was not cool this year? I remember) But older people (myself included) have a dizzying array of things to choose from.
TV's with LCD or not, what phone should I get, should I be on Facebook or MySpace? What the hell is Twitter?

Growing up, I had black and white TV, tape reels, mechanical engines with carburetors, rotary phones.
I've seen phones go from rotary to push button to cordless to cellular to smart.
I watched men walk on the moon for the first time and now a space station sits at Earth's doorstep.
Tape reels have evolved from tape deck, to cassette, to CD to mp3 players and beyond.

I've watched all this with wonder, not with fear, not with doubt but with wonder. Each new change brings new challenges, and yes they get harder, but nothing in life is easy, it was never meant to be.

We've just added more complexity to it.

All this is an incorporation of the new data into your own self.

Don't fear change, challenge it, embrace it, cuss at it, but learn from it!

Without change, where would we all be? Centenarian have seen vast changes in our civilizations, in some ways far more shocking that what is occurring now, yet they adapt, they don't worry about it. They survive.

The relatively minor changes of our technological lives are small compared to the changes brought about by marriage, death, having children, and getting old.

Does that mean I won't stress if my Internet goes down or my cell phone get's lost? Hell yes I will!

But that's why I keep a rotary phone in a box in the closet at all times. ;-)


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