Easier said than done, Socrates, but a great message nonetheless! Humans naturally have an aversion to change (well most of us, anyway.) We get used to doing things a certain way, and have a very hard time coping when things get changed up on us all of a sudden.

Our brains literally become wired to perform in a certain way, think in a certain way, and behave in a certain way. Throw us a curveball, and it could have us knocked right out of the park wondering what just happened.

Think of the saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” In a lot of ways, this can apply to human behavior. In fact one study actually showed that humans prefer things that have been around longer.

Simply put, we don’t like the unknown. Our evolution just isn’t set up to favor new things, period.

We survived based on information we gathered from our environment and learning how to use our surroundings to our benefit. If we had to migrate to a new place due to shortage of food or water, many of us couldn’t survive because of such a harsh and sudden change, coupled with not having the basics covered.

We would rather have the “tried and true” way than the untested, unknown, and unreliable way. This probably stems from evolution as well, because we only survived based on what we did know about our environment, not things we didn’t know.

Anyway, back to the point of the article. We all have different ways of dealing with change, and we’re going to break it down by zodiac elements as a way to categorize this management of change. Let’s get going!

How Do You Deal With Change, According to Your Zodiac Sign?

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

Fire Signs (Aries, Sagittarius, Leo)

Fire signs naturally have a “Just do it” approach to life. They see something they want, and they go after it. End of story. Because of their headstrong, outgoing, determined nature, they actually deal with change quite well. They’re pretty flexible, dynamic signs who can deal with life’s unknowns reasonably efficiently.

They don’t get caught up in fearing the change but rather, using the change to their advantage. They ask themselves, “Well, how can I benefit from this situation?” For example, maybe they lose their job and have to seek out new employment. Instead of fearing the unknown and letting that apprehension stop them, they go full steam ahead and fill out as many applications as possible until they have a new place to work.

They have the confidence in their abilities which allows them to handle change without too much headache.

Water Signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)

Then, we have the opposite end of the spectrum. Water signs, in general, have deep emotions which control most of their decisions in life. When something happens, no matter if it’s bad or good, water signs will wallow in their feelings until they’ve exhausted themselves, and still feel confused about how to cope.

Water signs are usually change averse, meaning they don’t like it. Sometimes, they might even deny change until they’re forced to deal with it. For them, it’s all about comfort. If they feel uncomfortable or unsure in any way, this will throw them off balance until they’ve had ample time to adjust.

Where Fire signs can adjust well to almost any situation, water signs just need a little extra time to process it and cope with major changes.

Earth Signs (Capricorn, Virgo, Taurus)

Earth signs don’t fear change, per say, they would just really rather not deal with it. They are generally stubborn and set in their ways, and don’t like change unless they have ample information before the change occurs. However, the source of information matters greatly to them. Oftentimes, people hear about news of change from a third party, and that person might have interpreted the message differently than the speaker had intended. Thus, the message gets lost in translation, and by the time it gets to the final person, it could have an entirely different meaning. So, in conclusion, Earth signs only like change when they can have all the facts from a reliable source.

Air Signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)

Air signs, like Fire signs, usually can adapt well to any changes. Being air signs, they simply float through life without making things too big of a production. They don’t see the point in wasting valuable energy on worrying about things they cannot change, because life is full of changes. They would rather just take things as they come and deal with the consequences of the change later. Air signs don’t like being bogged down with too much emotion – they are thinking signs, after all, and usually allow logic to run the show.

In addition, Air signs like getting affirmation from others going through something similar. Air signs don’t really keep secrets or shy away from sharing how they feel. They figure, the more people who can relate to how they’re feeling and what they’re dealing with, the easier it will be to deal with the changes in their life.

Sources:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103110001599
http://www.lamarsh.com/3-common-behaviors-of-people-faced-with-change/