"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." - Anatole France

I feel it's important to dissolve my own self to create a new Me. Change is a strange thing. I fear most the external responses that change brings. Change makes me disconnect with an identity that I created for myself. A set of opinions, beliefs and a lifestyle that I adhered to and promoted. But change destroys my past. And with it, change also creates an environment of discord between the new Me and the external world. The external world responds to Me in two ways : One is with a need to suck me back into my previous life and the other is with a sense of hostility. Both these responses are justified.

Sample this (Ficiton): I am a regular smoker. It's a lifestyle that I adhere to and promote out of my own choice. But a concern for health (read : change) persuades me to quit smoking. I do that. And with it I quit an identity (that of a smoker, recklessness maybe) and an environment (a group of smoking buddies etc.) that I myself had created. So, I not only have to make the internal adjustment of a cigarette-free life but must also accommodate the external responses (the one-drag temptation or the wrath of friends) to this change.

I think a big reason why people resist change, myself very much included, is because of this external reason. But I believe that if you are able to communicate this need to change with utmost earnestness, people around you will be willing to support your decision. And this encouragement is important.

So, the next time you decide to quit smoking, remember you're changing not only your own self but also your social self. Think about it!

As within, so without.