Openly Embrace Change in Our Daily Lives
Change is a constant in your life. From one perspective, change is the dreaded evil speeding through the roundabouts of your life that can surprise you at any time, in any place, and threatens your comfort zone. From another perspective, change is the most nurturing experience in life, for it broadens your horizon, helps you to set new goals, and arouses you into action instead of constantly being caught in a daily routine. But when change is likely to alter your life, how can you adapt to ensure that it turns out to be a positive experience, not a major drawback?
Steps
- Accept the idea of change. Change is a natural process which can be noticed as a cycle of life. For instance, a child changes into an adolescent during puberty. His or her physiology is bound to change, as well as his or her mentality. It is important to realize that development is an ongoing process that continues all throughout life. As you enter adulthood, navigate middle age and face the onset of old age, having a greater understanding of how people continue to grow and change as they get older can help you appreciate and manage all the stages of your life. Hence, change is an important process that helps you grow into mature persons. If you embrace change and accept change without trying to prevent it, you can be ready to react to whatever the world throws at you. Be proactive!
- Think about how the difference will affect you. Seasons change, people change, a lot of changes can occur in our daily lives at work, at home, at school, etc., so obviously the only thing that remains constant is change. So you can either sit and nag about it while waiting for the storm to pass, or you can embrace it and learn to dance in the rain. Seasons change from winter to spring so that nature could blossom all over again. When the caterpillar is caught by change, it leaves its cocoon which represents one stage of life in order to become a butterfly so it can spread its wings and fly away. No matter how bad the change might appear to be, always stay positive about it.
- Think about the good things that can occur through change. Think about the bright side of the circumstances. For instance, if you’re about to move to a new school, you’ll make plenty of new friends that could sometimes be better than the ones from your old school.
- Learn to see things from a different perspective. If you want to grow wisely, then learn to see things from a different perspective, because when things are bound to happen in a certain way, all you can do is treat the situation from that perspective. For instance, if you had a fight with your loved one and broke up, it might be a good sign after all. In fact, you would have learned so many things that you could apply in your next relationship in order to be more successful!
- Know that embracing change nurtures your personal growth. While it may seem daunting at first, you will be able to see the positive aspects of being somewhere new or doing new things. In order to aim for the best, you should let go of the chains that keep you hanging on to a routine, or the fear of trying something new. After all, how would you develop and grow wiser if you keep living in the old familiar, constantly doing the same things? Always remember that change is good once in a while.
Tips
- Talk to somebody. There is nothing worse than going through change and feeling like you have no-one to talk to. For instance, when going through puberty, a lot of things change. If you feel scared or upset by this change, talk to somebody you trust and explain to them what is making you uncomfortable or upset.
- Take some lessons from "Who moved my Cheese?" by Dr Spencer Johnson. It's written in a parable style, depicting the reaction of several mice confronted to changes during their hunt. Here's a sneak peek about the book:
- Change happens even when the same event seems to repeat itself.
- Anticipate change. Change is going to happen. Expect it, adapt to it and let it motivate you.
- Monitor change. Keep a close eye on the events around you. Some will change you, and some you can influence.
- Adapt to change quickly. The quicker you let go of the old, the sooner you can enjoy the new.
- Change: Embrace that which you can not control.
- Enjoy change: Savor the adventure of change and enjoy the results.
- Take time to question yourself. Why does this change occur at this time of my life? What lesson have I learned? How did it make me stronger? Has this happened before? What can I do better now that I missed last time? Where is the bright side? Always make a list of what you've learned, and how it affected you.
- Be patient. On your path, you'll cross plenty of interesting people who will help you directly or indirectly while you're embracing change.
