When you’re in the middle of a home remodeling project, the simple act of trying to walk through your house can be like navigating an obstacle course. There is drywall dust, paint fumes and tools scattered everywhere!
The process of change is painful – whether it’s construction or changing something in our lives. Most of us want to change … as long as it doesn’t make our lives too painful, messy or complicated.
Change starts off exciting and full of possibilities. “I’m going to learn to think positive,” we think to ourselves.
The rubber starts to meet the road when we have to take apart all the negative, pessimistic ways we normally think, and work on building new and more positive thought patterns.
It’s tempting to want to give up when change gets hard. However, if we embrace the reality that change is like a construction project – messy, uncomfortable and hard – rather than pushing back on it, we can find the strength and reserve necessary to push through. Then, instead of giving up, we can arrive on the other side with new thought patterns, healthier relationships and healthier lives.
Jean Holthaus, LMSW, LISW has been providing outpatient therapy services since 1995 when she earned her Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Iowa. She has worked for Pine Rest since 1997. She currently serves as manager of the Telehealth Clinic and the Hastings Clinic and is also a Pine Rest Outpatient Regional Director.
