Why do we fight change? Insects, animals, and plants accept change as the natural order of life. Not so much for the human species. Today, I offer you 25 encouraging quotes for change to help you face the future.

We don’t like change.

We don’t want to do it. Well, we tend to not mind it so much as long as it doesn’t affect us. That’s when we come out swinging, complaining, questioning. Why? What purpose does this serve? Whose idea was this? Finally, we dig our heels in, take our stand, and fight.

Agonizing over change takes an enormous amount of energy. I know. Last week I went to do the weekly shopping, which is not one of my favorite activities. What do I find? Someone. They. The powers that be decided to rearrange the entire store!

Do you know how much that slowed down my shopping process? I wasn’t alone. Aisle after aisle, disgruntled shoppers fumed over where they had moved the canned corn. After ten minutes, exhausted, I swore never to return.

Help is here.

You would never believe me if I told you change wasn’t that bad. So I won’t. My primary role in my professional work requires leading individuals and organizations through change. Not everyone scoffs at change. Some view change as an opportunity—hope for long-overdue improvement. Others feel threatened because the routine of their day and expertise sits in the open for scrutiny.

Whatever change you face today, I hope you find inspiration. Because change, my friend, remains constant. The only variable—your response.

Take what you need for today or somewhere down the road.

25 Encouraging Quotes

Be a learner . . .

In times of change the learners will inherit the earth while the knowers will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer

Dreams are lovely, but they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral. Pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change. Shonda Rhimes (Dartmouth Commencement Speech 2014)

Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself. Rumi

Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. George Bernard Shaw

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few. Shunryu Suzuki

Be kind . . .

Our moral responsibility is not to stop the future, but to shape it . . . to channel our destiny in humane directions and to ease the trauma of transition. Alvin Toffler

You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. Rosa Parks

Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is. Anne Frank

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. Albert Einstein

Times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. Paul Harvey

Be brave . . .

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. Sören Kierkegaard

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. Douglas Adams (The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul)

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. Henri Bergson

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. Kahlil Gibran

The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can. Neil Gaiman

Be open . . .

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. C.S. Lewis

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. George Santayana

The changes we dread most may contain our salvation. Barbara Kingsolver

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples. Mother Teresa

One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Malala Yousafzai

Be you . . .

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them — that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tzu

It’s not about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating they have to be about change. Miles Davis

If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one. Dolly Parton

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong. N.R. Narayana Murthy

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. Harriet Tubman

Additional encouragement . . .

Some change creates inconvenience, an annoyance at best. Others may change a life. The change you face may appear insurmountable. The pain is real and unbearable. Take heart. No, we do not know how your pain feels. But we know ours and can only imagine yours.

I have a wonderful friend who chooses to look at change this way.

“It’s only lumps in the oatmeal.”

Some lumps are bigger than others.

And always—

Be kind. Be brave. Be you.

Photo: © Kathryn LeRoy

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