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We cannot avoid the unexpected events in our lives, as it is these events that challenge us and force us to step out of our comfort zone. If we ignore or hide away from the challenge of change, we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn and grow.
Our resilience in life can only grow stronger when we embrace change and manage these challenges in a positive way, rather than hide away and ignore the opportunities that change can bring to our lives.
There is no escaping the impact that change can bring into your life. Managing change in life is key to living a life where you are not only surviving but thriving as well.
Think back to a few pivotal times/events in your life. What made navigating the change easier? What did you proactively do to transition more smoothly? What could have been done differently to lessen the impact? How would your life be different today if it weren’t for that change - what gifts did it bring you?
1. Changing Your Mindset – Your Power Choice
We like to live our lives in our comfort zone. Our subconscious likes this because it is the “known”. Embracing change is stepping into the unknown and our subconscious will not like the “unknown.” so it will resist.
Our fear will kick into action when we are faced with the disruptive consequences of change. There is no escaping the fact that change is a disruption and it feels uncomfortable and scary. However, it is our power of choice that enables us to activate positive change in our lives.
We cannot control the events of change in our life, but we can control how we react to the impact that these events have on our lives.
The more you use your power of choice and the more you focus your mindset on positively adapting to change, the more resilient you will be to dealing with the impact that change will bring to your life.
2. Find Meaning In Life
Knowing what is important in your life gives you purpose and sets the direction of how you want to live your life. With a sense of purpose and meaning in life, you have clarity and focus and both these elements are essential to you being able to successfully adapt and manage the impact of change in your life.
Having no purpose or meaning means that you tend to drift in life within the confines of your comfort zone. Purpose and meaning in life gives you the courage to step out of your comfort zone – which is where you will find change and the opportunities it can offer to you.
3. Let Go of Your Regrets
Regrets have a huge impact on how you respond to change and they hold you back in life. Letting go of your regrets is key to you being able to move forward in life.
It is the events of change that present opportunities in life, so if you are looking back at your past you may miss the opportunities of the present and the future.
You cannot change what you did or did not do in the past so let it go. The only control you have now is to choose to live in your present and future life.
4. Write a List of Scary Things to Do – Then Go Do Them
Change is scary and it is all about stepping out of your comfort zone into the unknown. Our subconscious needs to get familiar with us stepping out of a comfort zone and doing scary things. In fact we want to train our subconscious into believing that stepping out of our comfort zone and doing scary things is a normal and safe thing for us to do. Changes in routine, for example, can serve as stimulation to your stagnant nervous systems and allow you to grow new neural pathways.
Make a list of scary things that you would like to do but have been too afraid to. Put a plan in place and then go do them. Go have fun, challenge yourself and get yourself used to the feeling of being scared and stepping into the unknown.
5. Focus on Living a Balanced and Healthy Life
Living a balanced and healthy active life builds our resilience and ability to successfully manage the disruption that change can have on our lives.
Stress is a normal response to dealing with changes and challenges in daily life. In the short term, stress can help you perform better under pressure, but constant stress can pose problems for your health.
Finding positive ways to deal with the stress and pressure that we face daily is key to our survival on both a physical and emotional level.
Some healthy lifestyle actions you can use to successfully manage change and disruption in your life are:
Reduce caffeine and sugar
Avoid cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs
Practice meditation/prayer regularly
Take time out and disconnect
Learn how to relax and have fun
Connect with others
There are many more things you can do to live a health balanced life. The key is that you commit to activities that enable you to be resilient, optimistic, physically and mentally fit to successful work through the impact that change can bring to your life.