How Spring Helps Us Overcome Resistance to Change

Wondering how to overcome resistance to change? Breathe in a bit of Spring!

This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday quick write hosted by Kate Moutang. Join us each Thursday night on Twitter (#FMFParty) for fun and fellowship, then grab a pen and start writing when the prompt goes live!

Want to Overcome Resistance to Change?

“What are we supposed to do today?” a student asked as he walked into my classroom this morning.

“Yeah, where’s our objective?” another one came in the door.

“Take your pick,” I told them. “You may work on math, read, or finish up projects for other classes.

The computer I normally used to project the daily objective on the screen hadn’t gotten plugged in at the end of the day yesterday. I forgot to warn my substitute. The whole week has been wonky, with standardized testing, computer shortages for the test, and me missing two days of work due to medical appointments.

My students don’t do well with changes. I understand. Routines make them feel safe (ok, they make me feel safe, too). Any time I try to change up a classroom routine, I must find ways to help my students overcome resistance to change.

I can identify with their feelings. Trust me, I struggle daily to overcome resistance to change, too. Routines feel good. They make me feel comfortable, save time and energy, and make life easier. But they can also calcify us and make it harder for us to accept change.

Five Ways to Use Spring to Your Advantage

If you want to overcome resistance to change, Spring provides the perfect season to evaluate the positives of change.

1. Laugh. They say laughter is the best medicine, so you might as well laugh at your resistance to change. Acknowledging you need to overcome resistance to change is one of the first steps in making a change. Warmer days and more sunshine make it easier for me to laugh.
2. Look. Go for a walk outside and look for visible signs of spring: a daffodil pushing through the hard earth, tiny buds on trees.
3. Listen. What do you hear this week that you didn’t hear last week? While walking around my daughter’s neighborhood in Alaska on the first day of spring, I heard hundreds of chattering birds flocked in two trees. Maybe it’s time to gather with others and chatter and laugh and share changes you’d like to make.
4. Linger. Make time to linger outside and contemplate the past season and what growth you feel you may be ready for. My students always accept change better if they know beforehand that their routine will be different.
5. Love. Go ahead and take the time to write down what you love about spring. I love the longer daylight hours and being able to go running outside before work in the morning. (I live in a state with no Daylight Savings Time.) How can you use what you love about the season to help you make changes in your habits?

God ordained the seasons, and our lives have seasons, too. Jennifer Dukes Lee’s book Growing Slow, is a great read if you want to learn more about seasons and change. We can do all things through Christ, who gives us strength Philippians 4:13 (even overcome our resistance to change).