Things aren’t the same because you aren’t the same

This one can be hard to accept. In my mid-twenties, I moved to a city where I knew no one except for my boyfriend, leaving a job I loved and family behind. Finding a new job that satisfied me as much as my former one was hard, and so were making new friends and building a life that felt like mine and not my boyfriend’s. I’d had such an easy time of it before when I was moving cities or switching jobs, but now nothing was coming together as it had for me in the past. I wondered daily why I was struggling so much. My Mom reminded me, “Maybe it doesn’t feel the same because you aren’t the same as you used to be either.”

She was right. I had changed and I needed to keep changing. Every next stage of our lives requires us to grow and bring an advanced, different version of ourselves to the table. So the next time you question why something isn’t the same, don’t just look outward for an answer, look inward as well.

There’s a quote I’ve always loved that says, “We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.” Isn’t it all a happy chance anyway? The time, location, company and physical state that all align for the current moment we find ourselves in?

As you go about your day and planning for your year ahead, take a moment and reflect on how you’ve grown or advanced yourself. What has changed about you since this same time last year?