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I could be wrong in my perspective, yet I tend to think a person who has endured, and perservered thru economic strife, inter relations challenges...gets to a point of...Hey! I made it thru THAT, so other things are gravy. The don't sweat the small stuff. And most things can be managed.
Yes in my case. A childhood full of turmoil, abuse, poverty, and early losses, deaths led to learning how to survive, cope, adapt . I don’t feel change is as easy as flipping a light switch but I do go into the british “stiff upper lip “ mode and focus on getting through the now, and making do the best I can.
I like change. It kicks life up a notch. I've lived all over the US by choice and now live overseas so lots of change. Different careers.
Though I wasn't close to my parents, we had a secure, caring home. They were sort of rigid and locked into routines, very old-school, so I think I was rebelling against that too. My mom was a lovely, sweet person but I never wanted to live her circumscribed, narrow life.
I'm not an extrovert nor an introvert. I can enjoy SOME people. The quarantine was not a hardship for either of us. We sit around and read for hours anyway. Of course it helps that we got stuck in a fantastic, gorgeous place!
Some very good insight here, and I definitely agree that it varies based on personality type and personal preferences, plus much of it is indeed situational.
In typing out my OP, I was thinking specifically of the type of people who can radically change their mindset about a particular situation and never look back. That's something I've never been able to do. It's probably because some people form emotional attachments, while others seem incapable of doing so. The people who can't are the ones who can walk away at the drop of a hat, while people like me would struggle with the loss.
Continuing with the quarantine example, people who thrive on activity and personal interaction were heavily emotionally affected by the lockdown, while people who don't feel the need for such things barely noticed that anything changed.
A morbid answer to this- the better a person is at focusing on their immediate needs and wants, the better he or she is at surviving.
Psychologists have studied people who have endured horrific, hard to imagine hardships and figured out that the innate capacity to "keep going" and keep adjusted to their "here and now" separated survivors from non-survivors.
Another morbid truth- life itself can be very random. Many people who can't deal with this succumb to depression and withdraw from life.
I think the "people don't like change" mantra is both too simplistic and incorrect. People change all the time. They grow, they go to school, get jobs, change jobs, get married, have children, move. If we look deep and ask deeper, what people really don't like is loss and risk of loss. We love positive change -- a big raise. And we hate negative change -- a pile of extra work.
To me it really comes down to risk vs ROI. Each person does this little calculation of "what will lose/what is the cost vs what will I gain?" If the loss exceeds the gain, then they dislike change. If the gain exceeds the expected loss, they like change.
Change was something I looked forward when I was young. Now that I am older I feel change is happening faster and I feel loss not savoring the moments of the past. Having a secure family helped me feel confidence in pursuing life but with loss of loved ones one often feels alone and is less likely to welcome change.
Some very good insight here, and I definitely agree that it varies based on personality type and personal preferences, plus much of it is indeed situational.
In typing out my OP, I was thinking specifically of the type of people who can radically change their mindset about a particular situation and never look back. That's something I've never been able to do. It's probably because some people form emotional attachments, while others seem incapable of doing so. The people who can't are the ones who can walk away at the drop of a hat, while people like me would struggle with the loss.
Continuing with the quarantine example, people who thrive on activity and personal interaction were heavily emotionally affected by the lockdown, while people who don't feel the need for such things barely noticed that anything changed.
It seems a bit simplistic to claim the ability to adapt to change or embrace change is due to a lack of emotional attachment. I was very emotionally attached to my family but chose to marry and start a new married adventure as an immigrant, likewise each state we lived I had a circle of dear friends ( and many are still my friends, and I’m still close to my family). I think it’s much more complex and deeper than just one thing, depends on personality, upbringing, family dynamics and support system etc.
As for quarantine, again, I don’t know that we can presume quarantine is easier for people who don’t depend on personal interaction.
Agree with the posters who say that adaptability to change has a lot to do with one's basic temperament or personality.
My brother has always hated change and is experiencing a lot of anxiety over the changes from the COVID-19 epidemic even though he never was a person who went out a lot.
My sister is intermediate and is adapting somewhat to the changes. She makes a lot of Zoom calls to friends to keep in touch, has picked up a 2nd job since her primary job of waitressing is not doing so well, and while restless to go out she limits her trips to essential errands. She finds herself bored/frustrated sometimes but not the extent my brother is.
I have not had really any issues with the changes. I have taken up a couple of new hobbies since having to stay at home more frequently and am catching up on reading. I don't go to indoor venues much but have been going to outdoors attractions and getting more exercise. I hardly notice the inconveniences. I have always enjoyed change and dislike routine or getting into a rut.
At work I see varying levels of how people are adapting to the changes. The majority fall somewhere in the middle between not being bothered much at all and being completely distraught over it.
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