Why am I afraid of change?

Here’s a 20-minute video you might be interested in. It’s a talk on moral psychology and the differing genetic predispositions around the trait of “open-ness to experience” between liberals and conservatives:

http://julianwalkeryoga.gaia.com/blog/2008/9/liberal_and_conservative_moral_psychology

We all, to some extent, base our self-identities on certain aspects of our circumstances: job, family, place, appearance, etc. These are some of the components of who we think we are, though some people rely more heavily on these externals for their identities than do others.

When there are shifts in any of these circumstantial factors, as will inevitably happen, it strikes at our core and seems to threaten our own solidity. For people who are heavily self-invested in circumstances, change is an existential threat, and profoundly disturbing.

We have the false idea that the problems and pitfalls we know are better than the unknown.

Change is hard. It’s like hacking your way through a jungle instead of strolling down a broad, well-worn path.

One way to look at it is that change is inevitable. You can’t stop it. Therefore, it is best to embrace it as opportunity.

Look back at what has happened when you have been able to take risks in your life. Did good things happen? Build on that.

Probably because there are so many germs. I mean, how many people have touched any given penny? It’s gross to think about… Oh, oh that change.

It’s baby steps that will get you through this, just as how you learned to walk as an infant. You needn’t tackle your whole life at once. If you try to change just one thing, like, say, how you breathe, that will help you to incrementally lessen your fears. Know that everything you think and feel is under your control. You’re the boss.

I suspect it’s because you are human. Others have given some very good advice on how to cope, though!

Change is actually a move to the unknown. The unknown can be very scary, as it is ‘unknown’. Most of us are creatures of habit, and we often cling onto the regular, the known and the mundane because that is where we feel safe.

I love change, got any?

Nickels and dimes will do.