Change!

Change

The word change has quite the connotation since the Obama administration began in 2008, doesn’t it? Sure there are good changes, but I venture that a lot of people define “change” the same way that they define “New Year’s Resolution”. By this I mean that you formulate an idea and attempt to implement it, only to eventually fall back into old habits. A schoolteacher talks about changing her lesson plans to be more creative and exciting; after several weeks of planning she falls back into the same routine. A former high school athlete tells his wife and kids that he’s going to get back in shape by going to the gym – and he does for a couple weeks, until his favorite television show comes back on. I’m sure that you can come up with several more examples. Why does change so often fail?

Because we are afraid of being uncomfortable.

Think about it – humans are creatures of routine. We sleep at night. We wake up and go to school/work. We come home, eat, and socialize with our families and friends; maybe we play sports or have an evening hobby. Then we go to bed and repeat the process the next day.

How about at Church or a place of worship? We sit in the same row, week after week. We act weird when the worship leader plays a new song or the Pastor takes the offering after the message. All because we don’t like being uncomfortable.

I could go on with examples for days, but here’s one that’s pertinent to my life: mathematics. Students (and adults) always ask: “What’s the formula?” If there’s no formula, they’re dumbfounded. Or better yet, during an examination I may throw in a question that requires them to CRITICALLY THINK and is not straightforward. The students get super frustrated! Why? Because we don’t like being uncomfortable.

Better yet, 

We like being in control. Common surroundings and familiarity place us in control. 

Think about the last time that you went to a restaurant. You had two choices:

1) Do I stick with what I know is good?

2) Do I try something new?

Which did you choose?

Last night I went to TGIFriday’s with my friend Allison. I got the Cajun Alfredo pasta, because I knew several things:

1) I like the similar “Three Cheese Chicken Penne” entree at Applebee’s

2)    I love Cajun spices and, in general, spicy food

3)    Shrimp (especially grilled shrimp) is probably my favorite food that comes from water.

In short, I got the Cajun Alfredo Pasta (with the classic Coca-Cola) because it left the least up to chance. This decision was a microcosm of my upcoming career decision. I have been teaching in Lynchburg, Virginia for the past semester. Lynchburg is an AWESOME area and I love living here. However, I also have this nagging desire to move out west. I’ve considered Colorado primarily, but I’ve also considered Oregon and Washington at different times.

I heard this quotation recently:

“The only reason why you aren’t where you want to be is because you’re afraid”. (I tried to locate the source, but to no avail. Sorry, wise person)

This leads to me to several questions: Am I playing it safe? Am I settling? Am I afraid? I think back to my last big career/life choice. I had finished my outdoor leadership semester and I was looking to do long-term substitute teaching. Then two offers for full-time positions opened up in Virginia: a classroom teacher at a Christian high school in Roanoke or a co-teacher at E. C. Glass High School in Lynchburg. In the end I chose E. C. Glass, and it was the right decision. However, I can’t help but look at that decision and wonder if my desire for comfort played a larger factor than I previously thought.

So now I’m torn: do I stay in Lynchburg (where I have a position offered to me for next school year) or do I try and make it out west?

As a math major, I use math more than the average person. I have a relatively small sample size of life events in which I made a drastic change / went away from what is normal:

1) Going to Liberty University in fall of 2009 (most of my friends and classmates stayed in-state, going to BGSU Firelands, Ohio State, or Cincinnati)

2)  Going to Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters in fall 2013 for the Outdoor Leadership and Discipleship School (which in turn led me to decline a full-time 7^th grade math position at Staunton River Middle School)

Both of these decisions turned out great! However, as a (somewhat) smart mathematician, a sample size of two doesn’t guarantee success.

How do I proceed? The only correct answer is prayer and the wisdom of family members and mature friends. I thank you for reading this and if you have any words of advice, I’d love to hear them.

I’ll leave you with this quotation from the song “This is Your Life” by Switchfoot (on their best album, The Beautiful Letdown):

This is your life, are you who you want to be?This is your life, are you who you want to be?This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would beWhen the world was younger and you had everything to loseAnd you had everything to lose?

Am I who I want to be? Are you who you want to be?