Lets face it. It's something we all do. Change I mean. Really think about it. We change for the good, and we change for the bad. We change because we want to, and because we feel we have to. We change for friends, family, a boss, a significant other and even a prospect on a distant horizon.
I like to call it the 6 month rule of change. Stupid name I know, but I unfortunately cant not come up with something more witty. The gist of the 6 month rule of change is that it takes approximately 6 months for someone to become comfortable in their current situation to let themselves go a little. Take the last time you started a new job. You show up to work every day on time, bright eyed and bushy tailed. (Where the hell did this saying come from anyway?) You never miss a day of work. You are eager to complete each and every task assigned to you, and you happily oblige when you are asked to take on more work. But something happens when that 6th month is over. Probation period ends. *Cough Cough* Everything changes. You begin calling in sick when you are sick and coming in late because you overslept, and no one views you as the sub human G.I Joe they used to. Vacation time is yours to take. You have your daughters softball practice and your sons football games to get to, so your work sits on your desk until tomorrow. All of a sudden, you are gone from work more often than you are really there. (I am exaggerating here OBVIOUSLY!) And you start to pipe up a little more too. You voice your opinions regardless of how well they will be accepted. No more tip toeing around this office.
Just thinking about it makes me laugh. I find it amusing. The mere thought that if we actually showed up to work our very first day as ourselves would leave most of us indefinitely unemployed. I am no exception to this rule. Believe you me. I have the 6 month rule of change down pat. To the day I tell ya.
My thought process today was brought on by a conversation I had yesterday with a dear friend of mine... M. We were discussing relationships and I was saying things always change. When the honeymoon is over, its over. She stands on a very firm belief that it doesn't have to be this way. That things don't have to change. That the honey moon can last forever. I of course disagree. Mostly because I have been down this road a few too many times. Yeah, I too have the T-shirt! But really when I think about it from my own point of view, I am just not sure its possible. Can you really look past the annoying little habits your mate may say or do on a daily basis for the rest of your life without it ever getting on your very last nerve. You know, that thing he/she does in the shower, or right before bed, that at one time you thought was cute but now you could just smother him/her with the very pillow you sleep on if you have to see them do it one more time!!! My vote is no. Not that you would really smother them. Just pointing out the obvious fact that things change. People put on a charade that they can not carry on forever. I am sure my obsession with shoes, though quite cute at the beginning will weigh on anyone's last nerve, and their wallet. And who's to say if there is a happy ending in site? Some make it and I offer them my most sincere congratulations. And then some don't. But I wont be offering you any pity. We all jump back on that horse and try again, just a little more cautious, and a little more aware, that whether we like it or not... Things do always change.