Change is good. Right?

Why, then, do we all try to avoid it at one time or another or even fear it? Despite the fact that change can actually help us become better versions of ourselves, many of us shy away from it because it is uncomfortable, scary or exposes our vulnerability. We worry that change can be perceived as failure, a defeat or a need to become different. But different is also good and different makes things more interesting.

Over the course of the last 20 years, I have made more changes in my personal and professional life than I ever thought possible. From the moment I was in junior high, I had always thought my life would go exactly as I had planned. I would attend college in Washington, DC, work for Ted Koppel as a producer on Nightline, become the executive producer of a magazine news program (that is what they were called then), get married at 30; have kids at 35 and continue to be a working mother while being the best television producer in the industry. Fast forward to today, and all of that changed. I did attend college in Washington, DC, and I did work for television stations (but never ABC or Nightline). However, I met the man of my dreams at 21, moved home to Minnesota, was married at 23, worked as a television producer for a new company at the time creating shows for HGTV, went on to open a New York-style delicatessen restaurant with my husband at 25, and had two kids by the time I was 29. Change is good, right?

Just when I thought there could be no more unpredictability in my life, I made another change. I bought an invitation, stationery and personalized gift shop in 2004. I know, right? Being a retailer was never in my master plan. I had no knowledge of buying inventory and certainly no idea how to merchandise a 3,500 square foot space, but the opportunity was presented to me and I had to rise to the challenge. I knew that the business I purchased was one with a solid reputation in our community and one that I could grow in to an event planning company that featured custom invitations all under one roof. What I didn’t know, was how many times I would need to make change to get to the place I wanted and needed to be in both personally and professionally.

No one tells you that change is good. In college, we are taught that we need to have a job for at least a year or two prior to looking for a new one if it is not the right fit. We are told that employers will look at our work history and see repeated change as a sign of instability. We are encouraged to declare a major in a certain area of interest when in fact, we may actually be interested in many, many things that all enhance our ability to do what we love even more. I am not suggesting for a moment that those who lead our higher learning institutions are incorrect, what I am saying is that if I had not experienced the changes I have over the course of the last 20 years, I probably would not be where I am today.

Change is good. Change allowed me to purchase an existing business in 2004, change the focus of it within three years, change the location and the name within five years and become a national player in the event design and planning industry today. Our team has changed over the past two years, our focus has changed over the last three and today, our website has changed too. Enjoy our new look. After all, change is good.

The post Change is Good appeared first on | Amy Zaroff Events + Design.