Change can be hard, but it's also inevitable.

What's changing in your life? Is there anything you'd like to change (behaviour, lifestyle, priorities, habits, etc)?

Here's a short story to inspire you.

The Boy and the Butterfly

There was once a boy who found a caterpillar when he played outdoors. He picked it up and brought it home to his parents. The boy asked them if he could keep it, and they said yes, if he looked after it.

The boy built a home for the caterpillar and decorated the terrarium with sticks and plants. He made sure the caterpillar had everything it needed.

One day, the boy came home from school and saw that the caterpillar had climbed up a branch and turned into a cocoon.

The boy's parents explained to him that the larva he had found would turn into a butterfly and that this was part of the transformation.

Days went by and the boy waited eagerly for the transition. Suddenly, something happened.

The cocoon started to move and he saw that a butterfly desperately tried to make its way out. The boy got worried, so he ran to the kitchen and grabbed a pair of scissors. He wanted to help the poor butterfly escape.

He cut open the cocoon so it became easier for the butterfly to get out. But when it escaped, the butterfly had a large body and underdeveloped wings. It crawled at the bottom of the terrarium, and it was unable to fly.

The boy had tried to help the butterfly by cutting up the cocoon. But he didn't know that the butterfly needed the struggle to develop in the right way.

If the butterfly would have fought its way out of the small opening, the bodily fluids would have moved out into the wings, making them stronger and ready for flight. This struggle was necessary for the butterfly to develop its wings. The struggle was necessary for the butterfly to be able to fly.

Stories of this kind are common, and maybe even a bit cliché, but the one about the butterfly has stayed with me. Even though the story is a simplified version of the butterfly transformation, it still offers a valuable lesson.

The challenges you face during a struggle serve a purpose, which is easy to forget. You rarely talk about the price you pay to follow your dreams or grow as a person. The price is discomfort, but that discomfort is necessary. It might even be the most important ingredient to fulfil your goals and dreams.

The discomfort strengthens you. It turns you into the kind of person you are today.

You can't avoid change, because every choice you make (or don't make) has consequences. Everything you choose to do in life comes with a cost.

If you can't escape change, then you need to make choices where you can accept the consequences. To put it bluntly, you choose which shit to care about.

1 question for you:
​What (or who) do you care enough about to change?

Have a great week!

Cheers,
Olle

PS. Let me know of any (big or small) life changes happening your end. I'm starting my second year in the psychology program tomorrow. It's been a scary transition, but I've learned so much about myself in the process and I'd like to think that I've grown as a person.