How To Embrace Change

I am someone who has always had a hard time with accepting change in my life. I rely a lot on my daily routine to instill a sense of normalcy, and when I experience changes to my routine my entire day suddenly feels like it’s off track. The COVID-19 crisis has completely uprooted the lives of many, and I feel like I am not the only one that has had a hard time adjusting to the current state of the world. I took some time to reflect on healthy ways to work with these changes, and I have listed out the key points that I took away from it in hopes of helping other people who feel the same way.

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Focus on the positives

As someone that tends to be a little bit more on the pessimistic side of the spectrum, I have a hard time seeing positives in less than amazing situations. Now more than ever, I have been trying to view each setback in a positive light. For example, I have had a hard time with quarantine isolation, so instead of being upset about all of the things that I could be out doing, I have been focusing on the time that I have been able to spend with my fiance and dog. Similarly, I have felt a lot better about my wedding being postponed by viewing it as an opportunity to put away more money for our wedding fund!

Take things one step at a time

Quarantine aside, big life changes usually require many tasks to be done before the change actually occurs. When we moved to Washington from Pennsylvania last December, there were all kinds of things that we had to get situated prior to the move. At times it felt like we would never get through our things to do. In situations like that, I have learned to view each task as an independent unit of work, as opposed to a piece of a much larger puzzle. It’s easy to be overwhelmed when you have a list of things to do as long as your arm, but each task is much easier to take on when you separate them from the rest of the list.

Reflect on big life changes from your past

Everyone’s lives are really made up of a series of changes, when you stop and think about it. Sometimes when I am faced with multiple ways to go about making a big life change happen, I can get tripped up on which option will lead to a better outcome. A great way to combat this anxiety is to reflect on changes from my past, specifically the actions that I took and the outcomes that they produced. You can identify things that you did right and things that you wish you would’ve done differently, and then apply them to the situation that you are currently working through.

Ride out the Spirals

This is a tactic that I use in coming to terms with change, as well for anxiety-inducing situations in general. I sometimes experience panic attacks, which are generally associated with downwards spirals and thinking of all of the terrible ways that things could go wrong. When I recognize that I am thinking in a negative spiral, I make a conscious decision to think in a positive, idealistic spiral after my downward spiral runs its course. In life, things are generally not a best or worst case scenario. They generally land somewhere in the middle. With this thinking pattern, you can set yourself up for success in the fact that while the actual outcome may not have been your absolute optimal outcome, it most likely isn’t nearly as bad as you thought it would’ve been, either.

Talk about it with someone you trust

If you are going through a big change in your life, it is very likely that someone you know has gone through something similar. Talking through the anxiety associated with change with a trusted individual gives you an opportunity to get things off of your chest, as well as potentially find new ways to view a problem.

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I hope that these tips help anyone going through big life changes, and inspire you to work towards embracing those changes. For anyone who is having a hard time lately, know that you are doing a great job facing this unprecedented situation. You are strong and capable, and you will get through this. We’re all in it together!