I’ve heard quite a few people lately say they hate change.
This is totally inconceivable to me. I love change. I thrive on it. I re-arrange my house every couple months to shake things up. I’m known to leave the country on a whim. I try to get a completely different haircut every time I go to the barber. Hell, every few weeks I’ll sleep upside down in my bed or on the couch just for the feeling of waking up somewhere else.
So, change…love it or hate it?
I tend to be easily bored and after a few years of doing something I want to try something new. I’m talking mostly about my jobs here.
I like change in some things–what I wear, my home surroundings (like the furniture the OP mentioned), what I read, what I watch on television, what I eat.
Other things I want to stay the same–my employer, for example. I hate starting a new job, so I’d be cool if this one stayed the same for awhile.
It depends on the context. I love to change my clothes, but not a fan of say, changing jobs.
As an Army brat my entire life was built on change. My success in my career is built on being able to adapt to change. Everything I’ve ever known in my life has changed.
I would go absolutely insane if things stayed the same for too long.
Depends. Changing cities, apartments, or jobs is no problem and I even thrive on it. However I can be a creature of habit when it comes to mundane everyday routines like what I eat or watch on TV. It’s very strange.
All those are changes that are under your control, though. Would you feel the same about a job where you were in a different city every week, but you never got to pick the city or what you did during the day there? Or a different couch every night, but determined by other people’s willingness to put you up for the night? Or hair that grows a totally different way each month?
I think people that hate change–really hate it–are often talking about uncertain change that is outside of their control. I know that sort of change drives me batty: it makes me feel insecure, and so much of my emotional energy gets taken up by readjusting that there isn’t much left for anything else.
I also rarely do things like rearrange the furniture or travel on a whim, but that’s more out of laziness than a resistance to change. I live largely inside my own head and I’d rather read or write or think than do something physical. I don’t even notice the furniture, so I don’t think about changing it.
I also tend to try and set things up so that they are efficient–this applies at work a lot. Once I have a system in place that works, I only change it if I think of a way to make it more efficient or more effective. I don’t change things for change’s sake–if I don’t have reason to think the new thing will work better, I don’t want to risk it working worse.
I don’t like it because it jingles too much and it’s heavy and you have to roll it up into those little paper rolls sooner or later.
I wouldn’t say that I HATE change per se, but I’m generally quite happy without it.
I think I am bored and uninspired by my life and then I face unexpected change and am completely flustered by it. So generally speaking, I like change only if I am in charge of it and have time to think it over and plan for it.
I do strive for change/advancement in my job, and I generally have liked the end results. The period of transition, however, sucks. So when I say that I hate change, it’s that period of adjustment that I am talking about.
Change outside of my control is different, though, and it really depends on the issue and also the magnitude.
I like change. I am also a pessimist it seems. So it’s pretty hard to convince me that change is worthwhile. It’s something I’m trying to become better at.
You’re like a Bizarro-Me. All of that stuff seems inconceivable to me. Inconceivable! I usually like things to stay as they are, assuming I’m happy with them. I’d only want negative things in my life to change.
I am, however, intrigued by your outlook on life. Don’t you ever worry that when things change, they will just be worse than they were before? That’s usually my biggest fear about changing anything. Hell, I’m the most indecisive person in the world, because I always assume that whatever action I pick will be the worse outcome.
I like change: changing jobs, moving countries, meeting new people. I’ve always landed on my feet so far, even if it takes awhile to sort things out.
I do however seem to get into a routine once the change has happened. But so far, change is good.
My wallet doesn’t have a coin pocket, so I always put it in the charity jar.
Oh.
I hate change. Even if it’s a good change and something that I really want, I have to be dragged into it. I’ll even sometimes go into a mild depression after a change, like moving house. You’d think as a human I’d be more adaptable, but man I hate change.
I swear, I thought this thread would be about this too. My wallet has a coin pocket and is always filled with coins. But when you live in a country where anything equivalent to a US 5 dollar bill and below is minted currency, you have to learn to love it. It’s nice though, works better in vending machine, doesn’t damage as easily as paper money, and gives you a physical sense of value. The one yen coin feels like it is made out of plastic and so it feels as worthless as it really is. The 500 yen coin, however, is a heavy mofo and demands respect.
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I agree with MaxTheVool, I don’t HATE change. I just don’t exactly try to force it. If my current job makes me happy, why risk getting a new one that may turn out to be a bust? If I don’t like something, then, yeah, I’ll make a conscious effort to change it for the better. But why mess around with the good stuff?
An example of this is my apartment which, from a decorating perspective, is pretty dull. Yes, the walls are white and I’m still using only the furniture that came with the apartment. But I like the furniture that came with the apartment and the walls are attractive on their own. As I’m already happy with the (mostly) bare walls and plain furniture, I’m not going to spend money or effort to change it unlessw it would make me significantly happier to do so. I reupholstered my settee because I wanted a splash of contrast in that corner of the living room and I found a nice black shag cushion that fit perfectly and feels amazing. Lately, that is about as wild as change gets for me.
I moved to a foreign country for work, which, I suppose would show that I have no serious aversion to change. But now that I have a good-paying, respectable, and enjoyable job, I don’t see any immediate need to move again. Taking this job was simply the case that it was better than the offers I had in the US.
You seem to be in love with change that you control, totally within some orb of sanity.
I am afraid of change that I have no choice in, that which composes insanity.
I agree with this. to some extent. I’m not afraid of the change, but sometimes it is certainly unwelcome.
For example, a new bar recently opened in town that I really enjoy. That’s change. That’s change I enjoy.
When I used to live in Findlay, OH, a Tony Packo’s (the first outside of Toledo!) opened. That change made me very happy. Not too long after, though, it went bellyup. Partially due to lousy location. That was change I didn’t enjoy at all. I wept over that change.
For a less superficial example, we can look at, say, cancer. Cancer is definitely a change from not-cancer, but I don’t think it is a change welcomed by most. An economy fixed in an out-of-control downward spiral is certainly a change from one that is experiencing steady growth. An exciting change at that! But not the kind of excitement most people want.
This is going to sound strange, but I don’t really care. Being happy isn’t really my main goal. I’m not really sure what is…having stories to tell? having interesting things happen? But I honestly don’t mind- perhaps even welcome- a touch of discomfort.