Change is the whispering wind that always seems to be following us through our efforts to find stability in this topsy-turvy world. From the seasons to fashion trends, to popular entertainment, everything seems to be rapidly evolving and moving at a constant pace that we often feel like we can’t keep up with. As a species that is constantly looking to progress yet find a familiar and comfortable ground to keep our feet on, change can seem like something that is counterproductive to everything we work for. It can be overwhelming and unpleasant, at any age or time, to experience changes and new and different circumstances. However, dealing with change is a vital part of life and can often be a strengthening experience. These quotes from some of the greatest minds and most successful people will open your eyes on how best to embrace and cope with change.   

1. “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”

—Albert Einstein

2. “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.”

—Arnold Bennett

3. “Change is inevitable. Change is constant.”

—Benjamin Disraeli

4. “The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change.”

—Bill Clinton

5. “The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.”

—Charles Kettering

6. “Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.”

—Max McKeown 

7. "Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant.”

—Anthony D’Angelo 

8. “Look for solutions, instead of being difficult; be more thoughtful, instead of allowing anger to burn you out. Look at things from a different perspective, embrace change, look out for opportunities and you will feel much more in control.”

—Steve Backley 

9. “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

—John F. Kennedy

10. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

—Henry Ford

11. “When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.”

—Tuli Kupferberg

12. “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

 —George Bernard Shaw 

13. “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”

—Nathaniel Branden 

14. “He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.”

—Harold Wilson 

15. "Change is inevitable--except from a vending machine."

—Robert C. Gallagher

16. “People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second, blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours.”

—Ken Hakuta

17. “If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.”

—Maya Angelou

18. “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

—Mother Teresa 

19. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

—Margaret Mead

20. “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”

—Charles Darwin

21. “The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.”

—Friedrich Nietzsche 

22. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

—Barack Obama 

23.“We can not become what we need to by remaining what we are.”

—Oprah Winfrey

24. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

—Socrates

25. “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.”

—George Eliot

(Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash)