This past year has taught us what adaptable creatures we really are. When our world changed, though it was a tremendous adjustment and struggle, we adapted. We changed the way we did things, how we worked, studied and lived.
This has, for a number of people, been the biggest change they have had to face. Many of us had certain habits and practices that allowed us to cope with uncertainty and change in our lives. Then those options were not available. In some places, such options are still not possible.
Change forces us to grow, face our fears, confront those issues we were able to otherwise ignore, and to move into a new version of who we are. The process to the other side is the challenge. It asks us to upend what we know, adapt to new habits and practices, and to finally face those things we would rather not face. Once we make it through this process and come out on the other side, we are stronger, better and, if we embrace the change, we step more into who we are.
Change can be something small like adjusting your diet to support your health. Often this change only happens when your body forces you to make it. Once you have done it, and look back on the change you implemented, you wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Change can be much bigger and involve others. It may be a change that you have no control over like employment or a pandemic.
Embracing change starts with accepting what is.
Here is a journal exercise to guide you on the path of change:
Be in a quiet space where you can connect to self. Take a few deep breaths.
At the top of the page, write: I am where I am and that is okay. I can start where I am and go forward.
Write down everything that comes to you from the following questions:
- What am I afraid of with regard to this change?
- How can this change benefit me?
- What happens if I do nothing?
- What can I do right now to make this change a little easier to deal with?
Imagine yourself on the other side of this change. You survived and thrived through the change, implemented what you needed to, and came out on the other side. What does that picture look like? What feelings come to you in that space? How does your body feel? Do you feel a sense of relief, or perhaps the knowledge that you can do this?
Now go back to the change that is occurring in your life. Knowing where you can be if you go through the process and what is possible in your future by accepting this change, does it feel a little easier to cope with?
All growth involves some pain since we are stepping out of our comfort zones. If we can bravely face the change, allow ourselves to walk through the discomfort, and actively find a way to make this change suit us, we can shape our future in a way that serves us. Move with the change – accept that it is happening. Know that you can and will get through it. Finally, know that what awaits you on the other side is a better, bolder and more vibrant future for you.
How can I support you through the change in your life? Reach out and let me know.
Many Blessings,
Santa
