To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Winston Churchill.
Imagine you are following same routines and doing same things every day. You feel sometimes that some habits or stuffs need to change. Because they no longer bring you growth.
But we, people love comfort, comfort of doing the familiar things though there are no results. Then, starts an internal war between stability and growth. The first one gives comfort and other one, a huge discomfort.
And it takes a lot of courage to choose the latter one. But, at the end, all worth it.
How to embrace change in your life
In this blog, you will find 14 practical ways to embrace changes in your life. There are more complex changes one might face in daily life.
If you are going through such ways, you can read this article of Harvard Business Review – https://hbr.org/2015/09/how-to-embrace-complex-change.
Let’s dive in.
14 practical ways –
1. Shift your mindset
Shifting our mindset is crucial to make a change in our lives. We must see changes as an opportunity for growth.
Changes are uncomfortable most of the time. But if we don’t train our minds to have a new perspective every time, we need a transit, it will be hard for us to grow.
2. Reframe the situation positively
Learning to refrain your perspective is a powerful tool to grow. Whenever you face a challenge, try not to think of it as an obstacle; see it as an opportunity.
For instance, instead of saying, “I don’t know how to handle this,” say, “I’ve handled difficult things before; I’ll figure this out too.” Every situation has the potential to teach you something valuable.
The more you train your mind to reframe challenges positively, the more emotionally adaptable you become. Change will be less intimidating when you realize it might be a way of getting better.
3. Hold onto hope for the future
Hope is simply a belief that better things are coming. It is a light that keeps us going when we are going through the change, all the fear, confusion, and difficulties we are facing.
Spending time with the people who believe in us and listening to them helps to heal in the time of growth. Hope makes us resilient, which opens new future possibilities in front of us.
4. Detach from rigid expectations
Detaching yourself from the expectations which could be set by anyone, whether from society, family or yourself, you will feel free. Simple. You should evolve naturally and allow the outcomes in an open mind.
At the time you are setting an expectation, ask yourself, ‘Is it realistic for me?’ or ‘Is it kind?’ You must challenge the logic.
Another way could be to reframe those impossible standards by being compassionate. Rigid expectations are often fuelled by fear of being seen as “not enough”, shame or failure.
In that time, you must remind yourself that you are worthy even when you’re not making enough progress.
5. Be open to new perspectives
Being open to new perspectives has many advantages. It gives us different viewpoints of things and situations.
New viewpoints are like foods at a buffet—you don’t have to fill your whole plate, but you can taste a little to see if you like it or not.
One may think that if they try many perspectives, they lose themselves. That is not necessarily true. Openness can act as a compass if you keep your core values set.
6. Practice acceptance
Accepting change is something one must adapt to. You may not like it, but acknowledge that change is a natural part of life and it is something you flow with.
Change pushes us to go beyond our capacity. It forces us to expand our limitations and strengths. As everybody knows, change brings fear, confusion, and a lot of discomfort.
Remember, what you are today is built on past changes you once feared, you once thought would break you. There’s no need to rush to fix those as soon as it happens.
Let the change pass through you like a wave. Accept that gently. Focus on one small thing you can control. You’ll see that the growth is becoming easier.
7. Anchor yourself in purpose
During changes in life, we often find ourselves lost. In our mind, we know that whatever is happening right now is for good, but we are unable to find our way back to rhythm. Then, let your “why” guide you.
To find purpose and meaning in change, ask yourself, “Is this change pushing me toward the things I care about most?” Talk to yourself.
You will eventually find the purpose. When the purpose is clear, it becomes easier to go through change.
8. Focus on values, not just results
Going through the changes, if someone only thinks about the results, chances are they might feel overwhelmed and lose interest in the process. On the other hand, focusing on the values matters more than focusing only on the results.
For example, instead of “I must lose 5 kg in a month,” say “I will value my health by exercising 30 minutes a day.” Over time, it makes your actions consistent, no matter the outcome.
Look, outcomes are something you can’t always control, but your values shape the way you show up and the choices and efforts you put into the process.
9. Forgive yourself for mistakes
Forgiving yourself for past deeds is a good way to remove burdens from yourself. Most of the time, we continue to think about the wrongdoings we did rather than focusing on our next step.
Though we know that thinking of them will only give us an immense amount of guilt, shame and many negative emotions. The thing is, we forget that growth often includes all the mistakes and missteps we have taken along the way.
Mistakes are proof of trying. Instead, we see them as proof of failing. However, holding onto them will only steal energy from the present.
That’s why change is needed, changing in mindset especially, and accepting that we need to look forward with our wrong turns and imperfect choices.
10. Develop emotional awareness
Being emotionally aware gives us power. It’s a powerful tool. Our reactions to things, how we think and how we connect with others are all shaped by our emotions.
This is why developing emotional awareness, which is a skill of recognizing and understanding our feelings, helps us in a great way.
It gives us clarity; we can identify any situation and think clearly about any changes we are going through.
11. Engage in deep, honest conversations
Deep conversations with the right people at times make us strong from within. People who genuinely care always stand for us in many ways in need.
Sometimes, it just takes an honest conversation. This exchange gives us a feeling of comfort in the chaos. Engaging in deep conversations and sharing your journey with trusted people will make you feel safe and authentic.
Listening to someone will expand your perspective in life. You will find many other ways to deal with your situations.
12. Embrace uncertainty
At any stage of life, experiencing changes means facing uncertainty. Whenever we try something unfamiliar or even something for the first time, we face fear a lot, fear of the unknown.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to find peace even if we can’t get all the answers. Normally people think about things they cannot control, which gives them a sense of helplessness.
For example, we may not control unexpected setbacks, but we can control our attitude and the way we respond. It could be a powerful way to embrace uncertainty and change.
13. Surround yourself with positive influences
It is rightly said that the people you are surrounded by make or break your character. If you are into positive people and uplifting environments, chances are you will be an energetic and happy person who sees life in an optimistic way.
Similarly, negative people around you will make you super negative, someone who blames more often and does not change for good.
That is why we must choose our influences thoughtfully. Stay open for changes happening in your life because this is a way of growth.
Positive people will support you and push your limitations when you are going through a necessary but uncomfortable change, which helps you to build a stronger and more capable version of yourself.
14. Build emotional boundaries
To protect your mental and physical health, you must draw an invisible yet effective line, called a boundary. The more open and accessible we are to the world, the more negativity and criticism we’re forced to encounter.
Building emotional boundaries will prevent you from absorbing negativity, guilt, or pressure that doesn’t belong to you.
There are some ways to know that you need emotional boundaries, like when you overthink and replay some negative interactions, or you make others’ emotions your own.
Such as, you take responsibility for other people’s happiness. If they are sad, you are sad. Life changes need solid boundaries which will protect you by blocking out negative judgement, toxicity, and manipulation.
Conclusion
As we have come to an end of this blog, I hope you’ve gathered a few ideas to put into practice. When you start applying some of those, you might feel uncomfortable initially but will ultimately support your growth.
From embracing uncertainty to forgiving yourself for past mistakes, you’ll gradually begin to see yourself evolving in ways that feel more authentic and deeply fulfilling.
Thomas Fuller quoted that, “All things are difficult before they are easy.” Now, if I ask you, what part of yourself are you discovering through the current transition that you’re in? What will be your answer? Let me know in the comments.
Take care.
Make the Most of your day.
Until we meet again.
