people change

Source: Megan Gabrielle Harris

I listened to a podcast a while ago, and the host said something that struck me: “Don’t be married to your ideas”. At first, I thought it an odd thing to say, I pondered if he meant you don’t have to mean certain things you said, or something to that effect. Later I realized I was overthinking it and that the meaning doesn’t demand to get lost in translation as it was very clear. Not being 'married' to your ideas means allowing yourself to be as flexible as you ought to be naturally. We’re constantly changing even if we don’t feel or see that evolution every day.

Change is not something that people are always open to because it’s not always in our control. For instance, companies and countries are seeing the need to adapt to this fast-paced world that seems to be ever-morphing due to factors like technology. Adaptability is a survival mode. It’s not necessarily about what you prefer, it’s about confronting what already is. Think about migration. As of 2022, 300 million people are living in countries in which they're not native to. How do people survive in countries outside of their own? How do they confront that change of one day being somewhere recognizable, then suddenly finding themselves somewhere foreign? Sometimes people change because they’re no longer where they call home. Sometimes, they find adapting to be the only way to cope abroad. Adapting is not necessarily the same thing as renouncing yourself or your ideologies, it’s finding new ways to fit them into your new situation.

Lastly, not being "married" to your ideas also means not being trapped in who you used to be, or in what you want to change about yourself or your situation. The truth is, people change. For better or worse, it happens. People change because life forces them to, because they grew up, or because they choose to. People change to be better, stronger, wiser, etc. There are multiple of intentional or unintentional reasons why people change, sometimes it’s inexplicable so there’s no need to tie yourself in knots trying to figure out what triggers it. Change is a part of life, it’s a reminder that we’re alive, so we should perhaps approach it with a mindful understanding.

Until the next one

-C