Anxiety Stops You From Taking the Next Step (Why is Change so Hard?)

Understanding our fear and anxiety can help us make the changes we want and find more freedom.

Change is like being a little Robyn bird. The baby gets fed and nurtured for a couple of weeks by her parent. The Robyn chick feels the safety and the warmth of her siblings. This is the home that Robyn knows. This is what’s comfortable with cozy because Robyn spend her whole life with her siblings and her parents in this little nest that is safe and cozy and warm. My clients describe this kind of cozyness with their anxiety. They do not want to let it go, because the anxiety is what they know. My clients share that they know how to work with this and imagining something else seems daunting.

However, the high state of anxiety can sustain us in the long term. But at some point, the Robyn grows so big, she is healthy, and she needs to expand, and the nest in the home is too tiny. Change is hard because, as human beings, we're wired for connection and comfortability. Striking out on her own can be difficult and scary. Time and time again, mother nature teaches us through her lessons, and it is a natural cycle that change is part of our life. Look at this little Robyn; you can tell that she is big, and she’s ready to go; she’s kind of on the precipice of spreading her wings and flying. I would imagine this is how many of my clients feel when you’re thinking about a change or calming down.

Change alters our worldview and how we relate to people. My clients struggle with this change, because many are used to having high anxiety run them and how they interact with others. At the same time, Robyn knows it’s time to go. Many of clients come to therapy when they are ready to jump and fly, but fear and anxiety is keeping them on the ledge of the nest. The little Robyn is building up the courage to flap her wings and take her first flight into the world. Growth and expansion in this moment where many of us, like Robyn, are standing on the precipice, needing to jump off into something that really will nourish our soul, our hearts, our families, and our communities. 

Soul Glue Reflection: 

What steps are you taking like the little Robyn bird to leap into your life? 

Please take good care of your heart!

Sincerely,