Riding The Waves: Inspiring Quotes About Change
Change happens. Some people may consider change as inevitable as the tide—even tranquil lives can experience moments of change. While changes can be frightening at times, they may also lead to inspiration, beauty, and realizations. To understand change and embrace transitions in your life, it may be helpful to look at how changes can impact mental wellness and read inspirational quotes about change that offer an optimistic outlook on the future.
How does change affect individuals?
How humans react to change can be complicated. In some sense, people often crave change, so long as it's a comfortable change. Major change may bring about growth. However, people may be more likely to fight or avoid major changes, especially when they are out of one’s control. As Sydney J Harris puts it: “Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.”
Major life changes, even when they are positive changes, can cause a stress reaction. While there are often positive possibilities inherent in change, individuals may not see them until time offers a new perspective. In the moment, a person may become worried, frustrated, or unsure…Conversely, they may become elated, excited, or positive. Emotions are often intrinsically tied to change, and it can be normal for one to experience multiple emotions at once, including those that are contradictory.
Whether the major change in one’s life incites positive or negative feelings, these emotions are often temporary. Positive and negative changes in life can function as waves: crests and crashes and ebbs and flows. However, what change can, and often does, create is a lasting transformation in one’s inner self. By seeing change as a teacher for growth, individuals may take a more optimistic outlook and improve daily life, acceptance skills, and coping mechanisms.
Inspirational quotes about change to shift your perspective
The following are quotes from public figures on the topic of change and how it drives individuals’ lives and relationships and the world:
- “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” –Harriet Tubman
- “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” –James Baldwin
- “Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future.” –Walt Disney
- “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” –Oprah Winfrey
- “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world.” –Margaret Meade
- “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” –Malala Yousafzai
- “Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.” –Stephen Chbosky
- “A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing grows there.” –John Assaraf
- “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” –Nelson Mandela
- “Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.” –Nikos Kazantzakis
- “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” –Mother Theresa
- “If you can’t fly, then run; if you can’t run, then walk; if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” –Barack Obama
- “Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.” –Gilda Radner
- “Yesterday I was so clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” –Rumi
- “You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” –Roy T Bennet
- “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” –Gail Sheehy
- “When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” –Haruki Murakami
- “Change is hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle, and best at the end.” –Robin Sharma
- “The good and bad things are what form us as people…change makes us grow.” –Kate Winslet
- “Nothing ever happens unless something is moved.”—Albert Einstein
- “The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” –Socrates
- “After you’ve done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over.” –Alfred Edward Perlman
- “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it, and the confidence will follow.” –Carrie Fisher
- “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” –Angela Davis
- “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” –Alan Watts
- “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –Frederick Douglass
- “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” –C.S. Lewis
When stress over change becomes overwhelming
Despite the positive nature of some types of change, or the positive outcomes of others, individuals may spend time and substantial energy fighting it. In addition, sometimes the stress of major life changes can become overwhelming, as in the death of a loved one, a major move, or the breakup of a relationship.
In these cases, it may be helpful to seek professional help. Therapy can offer emotional support and tools to process change and manage the stress around it. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a popular and effective approach for stress management and facilitating positive thoughts and behaviors around change.
If you find it difficult to schedule therapy appointments in your busy life, online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp may be an effective and convenient solution. Through an online platform, clients can connect with a therapist via phone, video, or live chat sessions from any location with an internet connection. In addition, online platforms offer unique resources like online support groups and worksheets. Research has proven that online therapy is as effective as in-person sessions.
Takeaway
While change can be inevitable and may be a catalyst for positive growth in a person’s life, it may be difficult to deal with. If you find that shifts in your life have become difficult to handle, reach out for help and strategies from a licensed professional. They can help you heal, recognize opportunities for growth, and offer emotional support to come out on the other side of change.
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