Want to know how to accept and embrace change?
Fed up with being fearful or resistant to change?
If so, you are in the right place as I’m going to be sharing 5 ways to accept and embrace change.
“Change is the only constant in life.” – Heraclitus
Change is part of life and whilst you might currently be trying to escape it the fact is that change is evitable. Change will continue to happen for the rest of your life so you might as well learn how to accept and embrace it.
1. Acknowledge and address your fear of change
If you are fearful of change then you need to acknowledge that fear. Ask yourself:
- Why am I fearful of change?
- Have I had bad experiences with change in the past? What happened?
- What about change don’t I like?
- Why do I want things to stay the same?
By understanding where your fear of change comes from it will be easier for you to address your fear. If you’ve had bad experiences it is important to work through those memories and realise that whilst change can be negative it also can be positive.
2. Create a list of when a change in your life was positive
Change is happening all the time and it is easy to focus on the times when a change was bad, but now it is time to focus on when change has been a positive move in your life. Things to think of as many examples of possible of when change has been great. Ideally, you want to write down examples that you are positively charged memories. The more you can connect change with happiness the easier it will be for you to embrace change in the future.
3. Reframe change to be an opportunity
Sometimes change might be thrust upon you and in those circumstances, it can be even harder to embrace change. When a change happens because of someone other than ourselves it can make you feel as if you are not in control of your life. Unfortunately, there will be situations where change is happening and there is nothing you can do. You don’t have an option to keep things in the same and in this instance you absolutely have to accept that this change is happening. Then rather than resisting the change you need to reframe your mind to see the change as an opportunity. Rather than focusing on the things you may have lost in the process concentrate on the new opportunities. Search for the silver lining in the change.
4. Make little changes in your life
Sometimes the reason why change can be daunting is because it always happens outside of our control. One way to improve your attitude to change is by taking control and you actively making changes in your life. In the beginning, you can start small. It is better to add in lots of little changes to your life than a big one. To start you could do something simple such as changing your exercise routine, going to a different restaurant, taking a different route to work, wear an outfit that isn’t your usual style or do an activity you’ve never done before. The idea is to make a change that is big enough for you to notice the change but small enough for you to manage.
5. Get comfortable feeling uncomfortable
One of the reasons people don’t like change is because it pushes them to grow. Rather than being in their comfort zone, which they are happy to operate in, they are being stretched and challenged. It is absolutely natural to want to stay in your comfort zone, but it is important to learn how to deal with feeling uncomfortable. You don’t have to be singing for joy but by learning to be able to deal with feeling uncomfortable you’ll start to open yourself up to being able to manage more change in your life.