3 Things to Do In Times of Change

Trade your expectations for appreciation — Tony Robbins

Change is scary. I know. But change is also beautiful and evolving; it means you are learning, growing and moving through new chapters of your life. But what comes and trip us up is the resistance and discomfort during change. Sometimes, it almost feels too much to handle and we want to shrink back to where we were, somewhere comfortable and familiar.

As I navigate through several careers, personal and even location changes this year, I’ve had to constantly reposition myself and look at the bigger picture. Sometimes we get really caught up in emotions, be it the fear, the sadness (of letting go of things) or the anxiety of what’s coming next. Remind yourself that these feelings are all completely normal and part of change.

Here are my personal reflections and 3 steps to help you manage change and find more ease in the process:

1. Acknowledge You Are Going Through Change

By simply recognising that you are in transition helps to shift your mindset to be more open and receptive to whatever’s coming. Focus on the bigger picture to where you are heading, be it a business you want to start, a new relationship etc. adjust yourself and you’ll get comfortable with the idea of change and ease into that state of transition. And appreciate it, maintain a mindset of new possibilities and opportunities coming your way and embrace the whole experience of change.

2. Manage Your Expectations (know your roadblocks)

This is especially crucial in my experience and can help to prevent a lot of the frustrations and anxiety that come with change.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to be patient and kind to yourself in times of change and assure yourself that you are making the right steps that lead to where you want to be. Prepare yourself for the challenges and resistance that creeps up. Know that you are always resourceful and have the tools at hand to tackle anything.

Build a system for yourself, be it as simple as a notebook filled with inspirational quotes to help you challenge your thoughts in times of need, or something more practical such as a project spreadsheet and calendar reminders to keep yourself accountable for certain things, prep yourself!

Start by asking yourself:

• What is your biggest challenge in navigating change?
• What can you put in place to counter the potential ‘roadblocks’?
• What is a realistic goal (progress) within X time?

3. Gather Your Resources and Support

It is said that you become the 5 people you spend the most time with. Set up the right environment you need by surrounding yourself with uplifting energies and momentum. This is important especially if you are moving into a new paradigm for yourself, e.g. starting a business, doing a creative project, something you have never done before and you need constant reminders to show yourself what’s possible.

This will help to push us out of our comfort zones and silence our inner judgement and self-doubts. We all have some tougher days and it’s easy to beat ourselves up. Having the right people around you is like knowing there’s always a soft pillow to land on, where you can recharge and get back up again.

The sky is the limit for what you want to do in your life, but what’s most important is knowing oneself, knowing your potential obstacles to change, and setting up a supportive environment for yourself.

Consider the holistic picture of what’s required for change, your mental readiness, your emotional awareness, your physical health, the relationships around you, etc.

And remember, there’s always somebody out there cheering on for you.

If you’ve enjoyed my piece and would like to read more on mindset and change, here are some of my other work: