Changes: Turn and Face the Strain

Are you like Garth Algar from ?Wayne?s World?? Do you fear change? Are you so set in your ways that you look at every unplanned moment as some chaotic interruption of your master plan? If so, you?re seriously lacking in confidence and should loosen the straight jacket and start rolling with the punches ASAP.

Those cheesy bumper sticker companies have it right: Change is good. Sure, that phrase might seem incredibly corny at first glance, but it?s a mantra that every confident guy should know. Other than a massive tidal wave wiping out your entire town and/or finding a human thumb in your bag of Cheetos, what?s so bad about a little surprise?

Being afraid of what awaits and overreacting negatively to the unexpected (e.g. curling up into a ball, punching a hole through your living room wall) shows a lack of confidence. It?s a sign that you don?t think you?re ready to handle life, which is nothing but a series of unexpected events.

Get ready to change

Change is inevitable. That gorgeous girlfriend of yours? Good chance she?s out of the picture within a year. New car? Covered in bird crap by this evening. No matter what situation you?re in right now, your life can change dramatically in an instant. To be able to face change with a brave face is the hallmark of a confident man.

Along with accepting the unexpected, you?ve got to make changes to be successful. Following the status quo and sticking to a daily routine will get you somewhere, but not as far as you could actually go. Sure you might earn a raise over the course of a year or two, but you?re not going to get anyone?s attention by doing the same thing every day. Changing it up and offering something that your coworkers can?t will get you noticed and get you ahead.

I?m writing this article in the living room of my new apartment. Up until yesterday, I?d been living in the same place for two years. Why am I moving, you ask? I?ve decided to take the plunge and share an apartment with my girlfriend. Yes, another one bites the dust. Seriously though, I?ve been thinking of how positive of a change this is. Living at each other?s own apartments and sleeping in the same bed every other night was working, but our relationship really wouldn?t go anywhere if we didn?t make a major change and move in together (or at least we think so.) Neither of us know if it?s going to work — that long fight earlier didn?t help — but we?re going for broke and sharing the same peanut butter jar for the first time. We could get married (certainly a big change) or she might end up throwing my stuff outside the window three months from now (a big and embarrassing change). No matter what happens, change is something I?m willing to accept.

To quote an old Jawbreaker lyric, ?Expect the best, accept the worst.? Shit?s going to go down, man. If you?re confident and believe in yourself, you?ll be able to handle it. Seek out change. You?ll be a happier man for doing so. Well, unless you get a sex change. In that case, you?ll be a happier woman.