I would add to the graphic: “Your desire to change must be greater than your desire to have everything your way.”

Sometimes we want change and are willing to uproot the sameness of life but our motives are misguided. We don’t look at the consequences of the uprooting, or perhaps we don’t consider alternate approaches and timing. In the process, we create a mess.

Change is important. Growth is essential.

How we approach both is critical.

We don’t always get a choice, but we have more choices than we want to admit, and with those choices come responsibility. It might make us feel better to say “I didn’t know how to handle it any other way. I did my best.” But is that statement true as we declare it? Were there truly no more options, or were there just not options we liked? How often are we so focused on ourselves that our best efforts are also the most selfish?

Choices are important. They will ripple through others’ lives and reverberate through our own. The more we rationalize the poor choices we make, the louder the cacophony of painful consequences becomes. We might become familiar enough with the noise that our hearing adjusts and we move on, but is that the kind of change we were seeking?

Simply moving on from something isn’t always the best goal. Moving on with character and growth within ourselves and our relationships must be considered.