The Spaces in Between the Changes
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Life changes from time to time, but in between these changes are long periods where things stay the same. And if you're not happy with your life or how things are going, then these periods can seem like forever.
I always thought of time as not being my friend at all. I was always racing against it, losing it, or wasting it. And there was never enough of it. But in the last ten years, I've learned to work with it more. I still often don't feel like I've got enough time to do everything, but I'm managing it better now.
In the last ten years, my life, for the most part, has been changing in a good way, and there have been some, what I would call landmark changes, mixed in with other smaller changes.
But first, I want to talk about the times in between. Because the spaces in between the changes are important to me for a couple of reasons. First of all, this time helps me get used to the changes that have happened. Although it's very difficult for me to be patient in this part of the process.
As soon as I have change for the better in one area of my life, I instantly want change in the other areas too. But that's not how change works for me. So even though I think I'm ready for more change, I've found that I do need time to settle into it and get comfortable with it. And this could take months and, for some things, even years. This "waiting" period also helps me get ready for the next change. Some change needs to be prepared for.
So now I need to talk about the changes. There are different kinds of changes that happen in my life, and they can be put into three categories. The first and easiest kind is an opportunity for change that comes to me out of the blue, without me doing anything.
This happened to me quite a few years ago. I was in a job that I didn't like that wasn't going anywhere, and suddenly I got a call offering me a better job. I didn't even have to think about it, I just knew it was the right thing to go for.
The second type of change is change that I have planned for. But of course, you never really know if something is going to happen until you actually do it. My wife and I wanted to move house, but we weren't really sure if we would be able to afford it. And there were a few moments when we thought it wasn't going to happen. But we reached a point in our preparations and decided to go for it, and we were successful.
The third kind of change is something that is not planned and just starts spontaneously, just like this YouTube channel. I haven't had the time or the motivation to do anything new for a long time. But the idea hit me one day, and I really felt like it would be a good thing for me to do.
Starting something by myself and taking the initiative to do it in order to bring about change in my life had to feel right. If change is forced too much by my own will and desire, then it never works for me.
These three kinds of change have two things in common. First of all, there is an element of risk. They involve me taking a chance. And secondly, they involve me needing to trust that things will work out for the best.
