Many of us suddenly experience shifts in our lives. Whether it’s a change in motherhood, a job role, circumstances, or simply a change in the trajectory you saw your life going. Even if it’s hard to at first, it's important that we acknowledge and embrace the new direction in our lives.
So, here are four tips that we can all keep in mind when facing change.
1. Feel your feelings - My best friend and I have a saying when we are going through something. “It’s time to just feel your feelings”. Those range of emotions can be hard to express and even recognize when we are experiencing them. It can be anywhere from fear, disappointment, inadequacy, frustration, excitement, anxiety or just not being ready. Give yourself that period of time to feel what is happening and the affect it has on you.
It’s ok to let it set in.
2. Embrace it - Once you are out of the recognizing mode - just embrace it. I read a quote once that said, “not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path”. Having a positive outlook on change is not only beneficial for our mental and emotional health but it also can truly just be that in months from now you will look back and think to yourself, “wow, that was hard, but I managed and grew from this experience.” We just need to give ourselves time to roll with the punches.
3. Allow time to adjust - This one can be tricky, as if you’re anything like me, at times, we need to see immediate results. Sort of like “ok, this box is checked, this task is completed, I understand what this stage in my child’s life is like. Next.” Life doesn’t always work on the time line we want it to, so making room for that time, although not always easy, is necessary.
You can’t plant a seed today and expect fruit tomorrow. It just doesn’t work that way. Hold tight and 'trust the process.'
4. Don’t view challenges as failure - As I get older, I recognize that challenges can be hard but the beauty of it all, is in that moment, we can access what we can take on and what we can’t. We learn to let go of things that aren’t serving us, we prioritize and make adjustments in order to tackle the necessary and more important tasks at hand.
In summary, change happens all the time. There’s beauty in change - so allow it to ride. You will see a side of yourself you probably never knew existed and you will also learn to hang on to things that really matter. As you evolve and take on life’s challenges remember it’s ok to feel overwhelmed and need time to adjust. The key is to rise above it and handle it. Keep a positive outlook. Don’t view hiccups as failures. Just pause, reset and try again. You’ve got this.