I Welcome Change—It Doesn’t Scare Me (Much), I Think 🤷🏾?

Fear fades when we challenge assumptions and embrace new perspectives

SinC (Clint){💎}

Jan 21, 2025

Let’s SinC(n)

Reflection: Fear of Change

open the assumption, inspect it, and use your intuition to analyze and resolve the conflict

Fearing But Doing

The sudden tightening of the chest, the churning in your belly as butterflies throw a party. The temperature rises to that uh so… uncomfortable level, and a swirl of mental fog sweeps in—Metathesiophobia. Or, just call it “fear of change.” I did some digging and found this word that sums it up. Then there’s neophobia. It’s different—that one’s about fearing something brand new. After trying (and failing) to say metathesiophobia out loud 10 times, and laughing hysterically every time, I decided to dig deeper into this.

Anything new can feel terrifying, especially when it disrupts your comfort. For me? There’s a few things sitting with me right now—things that feel… uncomfortable. Is it fear of change?

The impact of Fear on our Mental Health
This Ai thing, I love it 😨
The Social Impact of Change

The Reflections - Fear of Change

The best structure for any system is one that’s reflective—a system that runs through its full cycle again, correcting mistakes and eliminating waste. Sometimes, you’re the waste. I’ve been the waste in many systems. Sounds bad, right? But it’s actually a good thing. I think I’m pretty accepting of change—within my boundaries, of course. But most of us are comfortably stuck in the cycle of safety, clinging to the perceived notion that you won’t be okay if you don’t do X. Said by who, exactly? You must stay with this employer, this partner, this job, these people, this thing… all because someone decided it’s what you’re supposed to do.

Yet, you have the power of choice.

I wonder how the fear of change has paralyzed us—how it’s impacted my life and the lives of those in my radius. The result of fear of change has impacted me physically and mentally. The physical effects are usually caused by the mental—anxiety that, if unresolved, can severely affect your mental health. From depression and stress to self-doubt and panic attacks, the toll can be supa overwhelming.

I sometimes wonder why we don’t see more mental health gyms. They’re just as important as physical ones like 24-Hour Fitness. Maybe, just maybe decisions that causes stress can be easier for people? At the core of this fear we put on ourselves is a thousand critical decisions, all in conflict, all demanding attention right now—when we barely have the energy for any of them. That’s why seeking help from therapists and following mindful, meditative practices can help us all cope. Lately, I’ve been consuming some thought-provoking insights by George I. Gurdjieff to manage my mentals.

What are you doing for your mental health?

Well, on top of my readings and writing, I take forced breaks that are actually fun. One of them is playing video games—it’s a great way to connect with my kids and you guest it …have fun. And now, those games are about to get waaay smarter. 😧 I’m going to lose now😥—well, I already lose anyway.😂

The Ai brain is going to make all game elements way more engaging. Games will adapt to your previous playthroughs, keeping the challenge level just right for you. And for your daily life, where Ai is infused into everything, it’ll seem really convenient at first… un…til.

Nah, I’m not afraid of Ai taking over.

Yeah, that’s a change that doesn’t scare me at all. (sarcasm)

…

Then there will be some positive advancements in important things like health using Ai, and we’ll happily suppress any bad news about Ai. But soon enough, the he said, she said, Ai said will trickle down into fake news and manipulation feeds, leading to a polarization struggle over what’s true and who to trust. We’ll dismiss real discoveries and resist new perspectives in the world wind of noise. The attribution system will be harder to validate, and if history proves right, we’ll be at each other’s throats with the same closed-minded arguments on all sides—with propaganda. This social outcome that demonstrates our connectedness will be as solid as ever—and we’ll all welcome it... right? (sarcasm)

Conflict is a junction that paralyzes when left unresolved. I wasn’t trying to get paralyzed but as I analyzed one of my uncomfortable situations. I hit a strong conflict with no clear answers. That’s when I remembered a book I’d read called “The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt” It talks about the Theory of Constraints and a Thinking Process. I quickly pulled up my old notes from my last read and began to refamiliarize myself with the Evaporating Cloud—a method to resolve conflicts. To simplify it a bit: a conflict happens when two sides aim for the same goal (called needs), but the conflict lies in the assumptions about the two wants.

The Evaporating Cloud - The Theory of Constraints Thinking Process by ResearchGate

What if we could use this process to help manage our fears? To address the assumptions behind what we don’t know—the very things that create fear in the first place. Most of the time, it’s our predictive nature anticipating what’s next. And while this can work for the things closest to us, the further out you go, those assumptions become more and more incorrect. Then, when some popular figure you love soooo much says something that validates or invalidates your assumptions, you just roll with it—without stopping to think.

Instead, try this: open the assumption, inspect it, and use your intuition to analyze and resolve the conflict. Watch how the Evaporating Cloud process lets all the bullshit vanish into thin air. That’s what I did, I’m comfortable now 🙂, you?

SinC(Reflections on Structures)

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