Normalizing Change - Elsa Bobben

It is often considered a difficult task for people, especially us Indians to accept change. It can either be moving to a different country or just changing your views about different things. We are mostly structured around the idea that change can lead to consequences and consequences can in turn follow rash decisions. But looking back, in the past two decades or so, we have changed a lot.

Change can sometimes be challenging but we should accept that it can sometimes give you insight and alter your point of view to a more optimistic one. Would our parents have believed if we told them that the majority of our lives are structured around technology right now, during their childhood, would they have believed us? Or that LGBTQ is legally acceptable? There’s no way, right? But with time, as change occurs, we are forced to live with it. However, should the word “forced” really be used if we can accept all these and normalize it? Would that make our lives more easy?

I, personally, strongly believe that all these stereotypes and conflicts occur because of our social construct on rather acceptable ideologies. It isn’t so hard to normalize change if u don’t look at it with so much hatred and fear. Fear of change is normal but it can deteriorate if you do not try to accept it. Reading all these may make you think that normalizing change is a topic only for major socially identifiable ideas, but no.

A simple, personal experience of mine that required a lot of acceptance for a major change was when I decided to move to India. I’ve always loved India. But the idea of leaving all my friends and the place that I grew up in really took a toll on me. But a 13-year-old girl's opinion didn’t matter whether she wanted to move or not. So I had to accept what was ahead of me. It was hard at first but gradually I realized that everything I had back in UAE was so clearly available and achievable wherever I went if I had the heart to accept it. It didn’t matter where we were, our point of view and embracement of our surroundings is what made an impact.

Change is good. You can either accept it and be at peace or forever live in conflict with the social world.

Change is an inevitable part of life no matter how much you try to avoid it, learning to adapt to change can make all the difference in our personal and professional growth. Having an optimistic view can be a good start. Take time to understand and get yourself to embrace the change. Learn to navigate change in a way that can have a positive impact on both society and your personal life. By normalizing change, we can create a society that values adaptability, resilience and innovation.