My Resistance to Change

It all started when I got an iPhone. Buying yourself a new toy is not usually a moment for self-reflection, but in this case, it got me thinking. I couldn’t stop thinking about my old phone and my resistance to upgrading it. Looking back, I can’t believe how long I spent making excuses for it. I spent so long making the best of a bad situation that I grew blind to how bad the status quo actually was.

My Beloved Flip Phone

In the case of my phone, I got a little Samsung flip phone back in 2007. It was the base model on my carrier. As time went on and my friends all moved on to smart phones (or least, smarter phones), I stubbornly clung to my little flip.

My phone was showing its age, but I kept making excuses for it. It was small and it had a decent battery life. It had pretty good sound quality, though I was the first to admit that texting was a real pain in the ass with the little T9 keypad. Nevertheless, I had gotten pretty adept at texting on it, so I made excuses for that, too. I also kept using my 2005-vintage iPod Mini with its black-and-white LCD screen and its 4GB hard drive (yes, and actual hard drive). It didn’t do anything but play music, but like my phone, it was good at what it did.

Getting an iPhone

After 4+ years of this, I finally got seduced by the iPhone 4S. Maybe it was the fact that it had finally come to Sprint, or maybe it was the death of Steve Jobs that finally convinced me, but I decided to bite the bullet and get it. To my surprise, I didn’t miss my old gadgets. Not one iota. I thought that the new phone would be too big for my pocket. It wasn’t. I thought I’d miss the physical scroll wheel on my iPod. I didn’t.

Not About a Phone

Anyway, this article is not about a damn phone. It’s about resistance to change. It’s very easy to fall into a routine, and not want to get out of it. There’s a lot of comfort in habit and routine, and if you’re not careful, you’ll never get out. When it comes to your choice of a phone, it doesn’t really make all that much of a difference. But when it comes to the big decisions in life, resistance to change can be pure poison. Always keep that in mind.