Change is inevitable. But not everyone wants to deal with change. It can be scary and overwhelming. It can pull the rug out from under your feet. And, it can make your world turn too quickly, or upside down. In fact, it can feel like your life is over! That’s why so many people avoid change.

But when you say “no” to change all the time, you’re doing yourself a disservice. There’s so much that you could gain from being more accepting of change!

Here Are 12 Reasons Why Resisting Change Is Bad For Your Life

1.    You Deprive Yourself Of Great Things

Change is necessary for moving forward. It’s not possible to improve if things don’t change. Technically speaking, improvement itself is change. So even when change is frightening, remember that there is a possibility that it will lead you somewhere better.

Many times, when you turn down change, what you’re really doing is resisting growth and improvement. Learn to take a chance now and then, and you’d be surprised what a leap of faith can give you! Go ahead and start that side job, say yes to that date, seek better employment, or try learning a new skill.

2.    You Never Get A Fresh Start

Sometimes, you don’t realize that what you need is a fresh start. Change can lead you to that new start, showing you new beginnings to chapters you didn’t even know could be in the book of your life.

A fresh start can be:

  • Starting a new job
  • Moving to a new place
  • Going to a new university
  • Joining a new community
  • Getting out of a bad relationship

No matter what your fresh start is, you’ll find yourself getting a chance to start all over again. You’re older, wiser, and more prepared the face challenges than you were before. You can do whatever you want with your newfound smarts!

3.    You Don’t Get New Thoughts

Avoiding change means you never think in any new way. Your belief system, opinions, and thoughts never progress, just as you never do. For example:

  • Your political leaning is never re-evaluated
  • You don’t think twice about your opinions
  • You never seek personal emotional or mental growth

For some things, this isn’t the worst – but for the most part, this isn’t something to be proud of. You gather new information throughout the years of your life, which gets to inform your original thoughts and ideas. This type of personal growth is crucial to mental health, so your lack of positive thinking may be due to that stagnation.

4.    You Stop Seeing New Things in New Ways

Tying into our previous point is the fact that change grants you new perspectives. It’s not all about mental shifts. Sometimes, they can be much more tangible. But they’re just as important! Examples of this type of new perspective are:

  • Finding out that you like living somewhere cooler or warmer than you initially thought you could stand
  • Discovering that you’re better at something than you originally believed you were
  • Living somewhere with a completely different view outside your window
  • Learning about a brand new culture that exposes you to new experiences and traditions

5.    You Don’t Get To Move To Bigger Change

Change is scary when it happens all at once. What usually happens for most people who aren’t the enormous risk-taking type is that they work their way up to more substantial change. A small shift from one job to another within the same small area gets bigger and bigger until they move to their dream location with a job position they’ve always dreamed of.

It’s 100% valid to be so frightened of change that taking huge jumps from one polar opposite to another is just too much for you to handle. But that’s even more reason for you to stop resisting change now. If you don’t start taking baby steps in small changes, you’ll never be able to make the significant change you’re dreaming of.

6.    You Forget To Be Grateful

As change continues to occur, you get a good reminder of what really matters in your life and what you want to appreciate. Without change, you’re stuck in one specific location, and it can make you complacent. You never come close to losing anything in your life, and therefore you start taking them all for granted.

Here are some other tips to boost gratitude:

  • Work on being compassionate to others
  • Practice mindfulness meditation to stimulate positive thinking
  • Spend time every evening reflecting on your day
  • Maintain a gratitude journal where you list at least three things you’re grateful for every day
  • Actively try to find the silver lining in situations
  • Instead of focusing on problems, focus on solutions and lessons you can learn

7.    Your Mind Is A Beginner

This point sounds terrible, but hear us out! All humans have a mind that is continuously a beginner at many things – but it’s best suited to being in that state. Your brain is capable of learning a lot in a short period, and even things you aren’t that talented at, it is more than willing to learn.

Engaging in unfamiliar experiences can help revert your brain to a beginner in that area, allowing for great open-mindedness and receptiveness to learning. Without preconceived ideas, the mind is free to process new information without prejudice.

When was the last time you tried something new? Make an effort to give something new a try at least once per month. Examples of what you can do include:

  • Travel someone new
  • Try cooking a new meal
  • Dye your hair or try a unique fashion style
  • Join a class you’ve never joined
  • Take up a new hobby
  • Consume media in a genre you usually don’t like

8.    You Are Delaying The Inevitable

Look, you have to face it – change is entirely inevitable. No matter how much you fight it or try to resist, you’re going to have to accept change into your life at some point. Nothing in life is constant – even the weather isn’t the same from one day to the next.

Resisting change, or trying to, on what you want to be a permanent basis, is essentially the same as being in denial. This inflexibility will only cause you:

9.    You Lose Your Humility

When you never experience anything different, your ego becomes stronger and stronger. You’re comfortable, you’re complacent, and you do not need a more positive attitude. All you know are your thoughts, the same routines, and the approval of the people you’ve always been around. You become stuck in your ways.

When you have new experiences, it reminds you that:

  • There are so many different people with different life circumstances, cultures, and perspectives out there
  • You’re not great at everything; there are many things you’re not good at without practice
  • Some people are going to dislike you, criticize you, or even make an enemy out of you – you’re not perfect

Humility allows you to make better decisions, enjoy clearer thoughts, and have a broader view of the world. It can also have positive effects on your mental health. Here are some other tips for being more humble:

  • Cultivate curiosity about unfamiliar things
  • Face your prejudices, opinions, and beliefs
  • Learn to put the needs of others first sometimes
  • Know you
  • Listen to others – their advice, their problems, their ideas, and more
  • Ask others for feedback
  • Don’t brag
  • Ask for help if you need it

10. You Stop Being Flexible

Flexibility is a useful trait to have, and it can help you manage unexpected hurdles and setbacks, even in your routine work. You’re going to have a bad day now and then, or something unexpected, will throw a wrench in your routines. If you cannot be flexible, even the smallest problem can ruin your entire effort.

It goes without saying that fighting change means letting any flexibility you could have built die. Here are some ways that you can be more flexible in life:

  • Accept that failure is a part of life; look for the message you can find in it
  • Take note of the way you tend to react and behave and see what you want to change
  • Set small goals and allow them to be adjusted if necessary
  • Learn to compromise with others and even put them first when need be

fearing change11. Vulnerability Can Be Beautiful

One of the scariest parts of change is that it leaves you open and vulnerable. You have to:

  • Step into an entirely new situation with no information
  • Do something new with little to no safety net
  • Accept that you don’t have all the answers
  • Understand that you can’t control everything in your life
  • Learn to tough difficult patches out for the positive light at the end

But this type of vulnerability can be beautiful. It contextualizes your emotions and shows you that you can be open, honest, and nervous and still be safe. It teaches you to process what you feel and move on.

12. You Forget How Strong You Are

When nothing ever changes in your life, you don’t have to put a lot of effort into persevering – there’s nothing to be perseverant about! But change can be overwhelming. It can be terrifying. It can be anxiety-inducing. And guess what? No matter what, you always survive change, even when it felt impossible at first.

Isn’t that a beautiful testament to your strength? If you can take all of that pain and difficulty and still come out on top, even when you feel helpless, alone, or like things are impossible, then who’s to say what else you can do?

Often, change makes you into who you are. It shapes your personality and makes you stronger, wiser, and, often, happier. So even though it can be intimidating, don’t be too frightened of change. You never know what amazing things will come with it!

inspire change with quotes
Final Thoughts On Some Reasons Why Resisting Change Is Bad For Your Life

You cannot prevent change from happening, but you can control the type of move you invite into your life. The sooner you come to peace with the complexities and concepts of change, the faster your life can improve, and you can move on to achieve your goals.