This time of year always brings with it a sense of newness. New colors on the trees, new school year, new hobbies, new resolutions. Just as Fall colors force the leaves off the trees,  the passage of time necessitates the shedding of the old. It is a law of nature that forward movement comes about at the convergence of old and new. Like the falling leaves of Autumn, the dropping of old behaviors marks the end of one season and the beginning of a new.

Change is one of the constants in  life. The only way to avoid change is to avoid growth. Approaching change as if it were a challenge, instead of a problem, offers a far different perspective. When viewed this way, the dimensions of fun and anticipation are introduced, adding a more positive slant and attitude. Coping with change and doing things differently then become an adventurous proposition.

Whether voluntarily sought or not, the single most definitive motivator of change is pain. When old meets new and the discrepancy between the two seem irreconcilable, the solution is change. The state of not-knowingness, however, is one of the most significant challenges  inherent in change. The familiarity of the old, in spite of how unproductive it can be, can be temptingly more attractive than the discomfort of the unfamiliar. Change comes when the pain of the old exceeds the pain of the new, making change feel like the lesser of the two evils.