Up next: more changes.
No one can deny the huge number of changes we’ve faced recently. Only a couple of years ago, who would have thought we’d face a pandemic that resulted in big changes in our health system, workplaces, schools, and relationships as well as deaths and long-term illnesses. Some people have handled the changes well. Others have dug in their heels or wrung their hands, clutching their pearls some people call it, refusing to face the new realities of life.
In addition to all of this, there’s a lot going on politically as well as socially and I have several clients who are facing big personal moves in their lives. What about you? Is change trying to happen? If so, are you resisting it, cooperating with it, or avoiding it?
It’s natural to avoid change. Most of us don’t want to make changes. It’s uncomfortable. We doubt ourselves and the process. We push our roots deeper, turn away from the obvious, and hope change will go away if we ignore it long enough.
Of course, it doesn’t. Here are three tips for handling change with greater ease and grace.
First, accept that change is inevitable. Life is change. Not one thing in your life is the same right now as it was a day ago, a year ago, or 20 years ago. Since things are always in flux, why not adopt a flexible stance instead of a rigid one? Why not hold on to life lightly rather than with a tight fist? Hop on the board and surf rather than sink into the waves.
Second, we get to choose how to respond to change. We can refuse to accept change when it is necessary. We can blindly assert that we don’t have to change – the world will change to accommodate us. Or we can decide to respond with a sense of wonder: I wonder where this will take me? I wonder what fabulous things are in store for me once I make this change.
Third, we can open our hearts to change with courage, enthusiasm, and zest. We can embrace the new while lovingly letting go of the old. We can face our future with willingness instead of dread.
Remember: you’re not in this alone. There isn’t a soul on this planet right now who isn’t facing change. What distinguishes us is how we handle it and whether we’re willing to move forward. Many people do not have this willingness. They are stuck with what was and won’t embrace what is and everything that is being born out of that.
Change can be a lot of fun if we are willing and able to let it be that way! Try the above tips and see if it helps you navigate your changing vista with greater joy, fulfillment, grace and ease.
Living in grace and ease,
Krysta