If the seasons can change without asking permission, so can you.
In a world as intimate as ours; we often think about the reaction of those around us before our own well-being. Time and time again I find myself thinking, “Will doing this make me seem cool? Will they like me if I don’t agree with them? Do they accept me?”
Validating our presence and place in this world is natural – and to do this we use the opinions, words, and actions of others. Our thoughts of quantifiable forms of acceptance are through likes, number of followers, and reactions online. That’s okay. It’s the world we live in. But what if we stop worrying about our stats; stop using them as indications of purpose?
Coming into the season of fall, the season of letting go and making room, I’m actively aware of the physical changes that we are subjected to. The natural changes that take place as seasons ebb from one to another.
We don’t give permission for fall to begin. For the weather to change, the trees to drop their leaves, or the birds to fly south. The seasons don’t wait for us to be ready; they don’t bother to ask what we think or how we are going to react. Yet we accept these changes, validate their presence time and time again, and move through them to our best ability. Most often finding something admirable in the way nature changes so fluidly and how we are able to adapt to external change.
Why can’t we accept changes about ourselves with such ease and grace?
Change is an inevitable part of life. It happens whether we’re ready or not. Whether you’ve planned to make a change, to grow into someone new, or you’ve been dealt cards and forced to play – change happens.
With the changes we can control, changes that we want to accept into our lives, why are we so scared to let them in? Taking on a new job, starting a new hobby, trying a new hairstyle, making new friends – all changes we think about making but hesitate to execute.
What’s holding you back from changing? From growing? From moving into a new season of your life?
Are you looking for permission? Worried about the opinions of others? Scared to be different? Worried you’ll lose followers, friends, or likes? Most of the time, those we are seeking validation from are equally as conscious and worried about our opinions.
We are victims of a bias that what we do, think, and say must be of relevance and purpose to those around us, even if it may not be to us personally. We want to fit in.
You don’t need to ask for permission to change. To grow. To make mistakes and work on becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be. To move into a new season of your life.
Those who are meant to stay in your life will stay. Those who came in for the season will move on to the next, just as you move on to yours.
This fall, accept the challenge of change. Whether it be outward or inward. Planned or unplanned. Ease into it. Embrace it. Find something admirable in making room for something new. Define your own purpose. Be your own biggest supporter.
Just as the seasons change, so can you.
