Have you ever stood at the edge of change, feeling like you're about to jump off a cliff into the unknown? That paralyzing mix of excitement and terror that keeps you frozen in place?

You're not alone. It is exactly where I am with Personal Best Seminars at this very moment. Resistance to change is deeply human – let’s connect and understand why we resist it is the first step toward embracing it.

Change Is Happening Whether We Like It Or Not

The truth is, change is constantly happening around us and to us. Our bodies are changing, our relationships are evolving, our careers are shifting. The question isn't whether change will happen – it's whether we'll participate in directing it.

When change happens to us rather than through us, we feel victimized by it. We become reactive instead of responsive, always one step behind, always trying to catch up to a reality that seems to be running away from us.

Think about how many times you've said:

• "I don't have time for this right now"

• "Why is this happening to me?"

• "I just want things to go back to normal"

It's this experience of change that scares us and paralyzes us. The feeling of being out of control, of having no say in where our lives are heading, is what drives us into hiding. The irony is that we're hiding from a truth that's inescapable: we are constantly changing every minute of every day. Our cells are regenerating, our thoughts are evolving, our relationships are shifting. Change isn't something that happens occasionally—it's the constant state of being alive.

Yet we pretend we can stay the same. We cling to familiarity, to routines, to identities that feel safe. We convince ourselves that if we just hold on tight enough, we can avoid the discomfort of transformation. But what we're really doing is surrendering our power to shape the change that's inevitable.

We Don't Know How to Create INTENTIONAL Change

Even when we desperately want to change – for ourselves, our families, our careers – we often don't know how to create INTENTIONAL change. We can see clearly where we want to go, but the path there feels shrouded in mystery.

We don't know the way. We've never walked this particular path before. How do we transform ourselves with purpose and direction? How do we find the right steps when every option feels uncertain?

We doubt ourselves deeply. We see in others what we want for ourselves but don't know how to get there. We watch people living lives that we aspire to, and the gap between their reality and ours feels impossibly wide.

We fear failure profoundly. What does it mean about us if we don't succeed in our attempts at intentional change? The possibility of trying and failing seems more painful than not trying at all.

This powerful combination – not knowing the steps to take, fearing the possibility of failure, and deeply doubting our own capabilities – creates the perfect storm for staying stuck. It's like wanting to cross a river without knowing how to swim, without a map to the nearest bridge, and with the conviction that if you tried and failed, the consequences would be unbearable. No wonder we often choose to remain on the familiar shore, even when the other side holds everything we say we want.

The Lack of Perceived Change Serves You Somehow

Perhaps because of this powerful combination noted above, you've come to believe that where you are now is less painful and more rewarding than who and what you might become on the other side of change. Staying where you are serves you somehow.

Have you ever wondered how? Maybe it gives you permission to ease off and not push yourself too hard. What if you pushed yourself harder and then yourself and others would expect it more often? Perhaps it's a place that brings you a certain kind of acknowledgment – the sympathy and concern when others say, "Poor thing, they have it so hard." Or maybe it's about protecting yourself from how uncertain and scary the world beyond your comfort zone seems.

Perhaps you are currently getting a form of recognition here that you can't fill on your own – like staying in a tiresome career when you secretly strive to be your own boss. That external recognition keeps filling your cup even as the rest of your situation drains you.

These aren't judgments – they're invitations to look more deeply at what keeps us where we are, even when we say we want something different.

We're Not Scared of Change – We're Scared of Who We'll Become

Here's the deepest truth about change resistance: what terrifies us isn't the process of changing – it's who we'll be on the other side.

As Marianne Williamson powerfully wrote: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us."

I remember this lesson vividly from my competitive swimming days...

I was about a month into my fourth season as a competitive swimmer. I had a slow start that year and found myself in a slower lane with easier training sets. I was the fastest in my lane, which meant I always went first – and I liked going first. I was comfortable.

I was also keenly aware that moving to a faster lane meant signing up for an entire year of harder work – morning practices before school, more laps in each two-hour session, being the slowest instead of the fastest. The thought terrified me.

For a whole month, I questioned whether I was going to fully engage that season. Then one day, something clicked. I just turned it on. When I turn it on, it's all the way on – full throttle.

During that practice, I found my groove. In the water, it felt like I was a MiG-28 fighter jet from the movie Top Gun – flying on top of the water. The set was 12×200m with 3:30 minute intervals. I felt on top of the world. For those 45 minutes, I wasn't thinking about tomorrow's practice or what it meant for my future training schedule. I was simply present, pushing myself to the max.

After practice, my coach yelled to me from the locker room door: "Where have you been all month? That was incredible!" I felt proud, happy, honoured.

Then he said something I wish he hadn't: "KEEP IT UP."

Immediately, the fear returned. Not fear of the work itself, but fear of who I would need to be – someone who pushed that hard every single day, who competed at provincial and national levels, who committed completely.

The next day, my muscles ached, and I continued to battle the fear of what was to come while simultaneously riding the rush of that flying experience in the water.

Here's what's interesting: the year continued, and the work in the faster lane wasn't actually any harder than I'd feared. What changed was how I felt about myself while training and competing. I approached everything like I was going "Mach 10." I became someone who expected more from myself, and that changed everything.

The Next Chapter at Personal Best Seminars

As the owner of Personal Best Seminars, I empower my clients to step into the scary experience of change. They do. They succeed. Ironically, now I find myself with this company standing on the cliff again, ready to make a jump. I feel scared, paralyzed even. I feel alone, and I'm deeply experiencing our resistant human nature.

I've operated this company in a way that was successful for my predecessor. I stepped into his roadmap of what worked 20 years ago and focused on keeping it the same to achieve and maintain that level of success. However, I forgot the one thing about change that is constant... Change itself is constant. What worked 20 years ago does not work today. What I'm doing is not working.

Over the next 5 months, we are transitioning to a whole new brand for our company. We will now be operating as THE NEXT CHAPTER ENDEAVOURS, not Personal Best Seminars.

It's going to impact every part of the front end of our business: name of courses, our ideal client, how we market and promote our programs, and the sales process.

The programs will not be changing; how we present them to leads coming in will be. The largest noticeable change is in the name of the programs—Level 1, 2, and 3 will now be ENGAGE, EVOLVE, and ELEVATE, and they will be sold as a bundle. We will not be selling them separately; they will be a joint package for those who want change and want the steps, support, and belief reframing along the way.

At THE NEXT CHAPTER ENDEAVOURS, we understand this journey intimately. We've witnessed thousands of participants stand at this crossroads of change, and where we currently stand, feeling both the pull toward something greater and the pull back toward the familiar. 

That's why we're evolving too. We've recognized that transformation isn't a single event—it's a continuous journey that requires support at every stage. Our new integrated approach to transformation through the ENGAGE, EVOLVE, and ELEVATE phases reflects our commitment to walking beside you through your entire change process, not just the beginning.

We're creating a more transparent, supportive framework that honours the natural flow of transformation. Because we know that real change doesn't happen in isolation or in a single weekend—it happens through sustained practice and community support.

Just as I discovered in my swimming career that the real change wasn't in the faster lane itself but in who I became by choosing it, we've found that the most profound transformations happen when people commit to their entire journey, not just the first step.

Moving Forward: The Choice We Face Every Day

Change doesn't have to be a cliff jump. It can be a series of small sail adjustments that, over time, take you to an entirely new destination. Or like a pilot who is off course, they can adjust the angle 1 degree and be in an entirely new destination after a couple hour flight. Who would you be with a 1 degree shift in direction?

Abraham Maslow reminds us: "In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety."

Which will you choose today?

If you're ready to take that step forward – to direct the change in your life rather than being directed by it – we invite you to explore how THE NEXT CHAPTER ENDEAVOURS can support your journey. Our programs are designed to help you navigate change with clarity, purpose, and confidence. Book a Discovery Call here.

Because the truth about change isn't just that it's scary – it's also the only path to becoming who you're meant to be.