There is an old classic movie titled ‘Roman Holiday,’ released in 1953. The film stars Audrey Hepburn as a Princess of a European country and Gregory Peck as an American journalist. The princess escapes from her royal protection and protocol to enjoy freedom and experience life as an ordinary person, while the journalist encounters her without realizing her true identity. The story progresses through manifestations of romance, self-interest, sacrifice, dreams, and reality. The point is that royals with wealth, prestige, and power may feel monotony and constraint, and they yearn to taste the life of ordinary people. On the other hand, ordinary people dream of the lavish life of the rich.
We have this proverb, “The grass is always greener on the other side”. We often think that other people’s life is better than ours. It probably originates from the instinct of envy. But there is another side to it: we are never content with what we have, we always want to see and experience the other side of the river even if we know it’s not greener. We look for change. We seek variety in clothing, food, architecture, everything. Sometimes the old design in clothing comes back after many years which means it’s not about novelty or modernity but just from the urge to change, go for something different.
The quest for this kind of change originates from the craving for variety, excitement, and stimulation. We travel to different places, taste various foods, explore newer fashions, and keep up with the latest gadgets, all of which provide us with a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction.
There are, however, other types of changes that we are usually not comfortable with and sometimes even fearful of. For instance, changes in our workplace or social norms can be unsettling because they often pose a transition to the unknown and uncertain. We have a natural inclination to seek security, stability, and routine. We create a comfort zone in our lives and don’t want to step out of it or allow anything to shake it up. Moving to the uncharted and unfamiliar can evoke anxiety. Thus, there is a natural tendency for people to resist change. In fact, there is a whole subject of change management where they teach you how to introduce change in organizations, motivate employees to accept it, handle resistance to change, and so on.
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This article was published in the Daily Sun on December 13, 2023. Please read the full article here or here.