Embracing Your Neddy
When my brother was young, he, like many children, had a teddy bear that he took around everywhere. Teddy did everything with Brandon. After awhile, Teddy was starting to look a little worse for the wear.
My mother, smartly, hunted down a Teddy lookalike. He was an exact replica of my brother's current stuffed animal; he just didn't look as worn. My mom's plan was simple but brilliant: when it was starting to look like Teddy was on his last leg, she would start giving my brother replacement Teddy, so no tears would be shed when Teddy was no longer around.
However, my mom didn't account for something -- my 4-year-old brother was too smart for this. He right away knew this new imposter was not his Teddy and rejected the bear. He even started calling the new stuffed animal "Neddy" (this may have been short for "Not Teddy").
Eventually, Brandon accepted Neddy into his life, but it took some time (and he remained Neddy -- his name was never changed to take the place of Teddy). My little brother didn't know it, but he was exhibiting a powerful, common human behavior: a dislike for change.
We all have Neddys in our life. It could be a new home, a new job, a new relationship, a new way of life. They may have their benefits, but they are also not what we're used to and can be scary. This also extends to the workplace: you may be used to your department running a certain way. Then a new manager steps in, and BAM! She changes everything! Looks like you just got Neddy-ed!
Or how about that new automation instrument implemented in your lab a few months ago? It's new and it may work well, but it's just not what you're used to. You like the old way of doing things -- it's familiar.
Change is tough -- there's no way around that. But a lot of the time, change can be good. It just takes some getting used to.
My brother learned to live with -- and even love -- Neddy. He was not Teddy, but he was his own individual person (er, stuffed animal) with whom my brother created special memories.
Basically, what I'm saying is -- give change, your Neddy, a chance. You may learn to love it!