Stop, Drop, and Roll

Last week, I wrote a post entitled “Things Change.” The post was about the inevitability of change and how we should embrace it rather than fight it.

As I looked back on that post, I realized I had talked about the principle of embracing change, but didn’t give any practical suggestions on how to embrace change.

So, let’s talk about how to do that.

When you’re faced with change that is not unjust or immoral, it will help you to think of the phrase, “Stop, drop, and roll.”

• STOP – Stop holding onto the way things used to be. Like a child who doesn’t want to surrender their favorite blanket, it can be hard to let go of something that’s familiar and seems to be working for you. Maybe it’s your favorite pair of shoes that finally gave up the ghost. Maybe it’s your old cell phone that you finally got comfortable using. Whatever it is, when we get things the way we want them, we don’t want them change. Yet, change is inevitable. So when you get things the way you like them enjoy it, but don’t hold it in a death grip. Something will eventually pry your fingers off of it.
• DROP – Drop your expectations on how things should be. We all have a vision for how things “should” be. We all think we know how things “ought” to work. The problem with “should” and “ought” is that they set us up for disappointment and frustration. It’s great when things work out the way they “should,” but we all know that doesn’t always happen. Don’t let your expectation of how things “should” be keep you from making something good out of the way things are. In other words, don’t keep “should-ing” on yourself.
• ROLL – Roll with the way things are now. When you stop holding onto the way thing used to be and you drop your expectations on how things should be, then it’s a lot easier to roll with the way things are. Life is a little like playing poker. Professional poker players make a lot of money, not by always getting a good hand, but by playing the bad hands well. You can’t always control what hand you’re dealt, but you can control how you play the hand you’re dealt. You don’t have to like the way things are now, but you can learn to roll with the way things are now by accepting it and making the most of it.

Changes are a part of every age and stage of life. It starts when you’re forced to leave the womb. Then there’s cutting teeth, learning to walk, starting school, graduating from school, finding a job, loosing a job, getting married, having kids, launching kids, retirement, increased health issues, loss of a spouse, etc. Life is an on-going flow of change.

So whether the change you face is welcomed or unwelcomed, one thing’s for sure…you can’t avoid it. You must deal with it, and the best way to deal with it is remembering to stop, drop, and roll.

Let’s look at this on another level…

Change can be unsettling. It can make us feel insecure. It’s easier to face change when there’s something we can hold onto that remains secure and unchanging. In Malachi 3:6, God says, “For I the LORD do not change…” In a world that’s constantly changing, there is One who is constant and unchanging. He can be your stability in the midst of all the changes you face.

Leave a comment and tell us how you have gotten through a time of change in your life.

Copyright © 2014 Bret Legg