Change isn’t always bad, and we’re often bad at separating the positivity of the change from our resistance to it.
The road to my kids’ middle school is full of truly unbearable pot holes and shoddy repairs.
I should say was. The road has recently been repaved.
My first time driving it after the repaving, I actually caught myself thinking, “I miss the potholes!” Of course, I immediately checked myself and laughed.
What I recognized in that moment is this: we’re always resisting change. Even when the change is entirely for the better and welcome, it still has the power to motivate resistance.
Recognizing that my dislike of change can make me (briefly) resist even a much improved road surface is important; because I can use that knowledge to help me recognize resistance to other positive changes, and check myself from voicing that resistance.
I can better help my students when I recognize that they’ll be resistant to change, full stop. – regardless of the impact of the change.