There are a lot of tips and tricks on how to deal with change and they all have some things in common. All of us are undergoing change and have to deal with change at different stages and aspects of our lives. We recognize that change is necessary in order for us to evolve. We also know that most humans suck at dealing with change. Each one of us copes and adapts to change in different ways.
Here are some tips on how you can deal with change more easily instead of feeling helpless about things. This is actually a process that is very helpful to get you in the right mindset. You can tailor it to your specific situation too.
1. Anchor Yourself
It is an overwhelming experience when change sweeps over us. Change can occur so fast that we may feel things are getting out of control. This feeling of being overwhelmed by what’s happening around us can stress us out or leave us feeling helpless and frustrated.
The best thing to do is to take care of your own well-being first. Focus on how to make yourself feel better again so you can have a stable foundation to anchor you as you think your next steps through.
Here are some things you can do to anchor yourself so you don’t get swept away by the whirlwind of change.
- Don’t forget to observe daily health habits.
- Do something you love and do it mindfully.
- Meditate and visualize the things that make you feel good.
- Talk to a friend and talk about the fun times or do something fun.
- Do some exercise to release tension and stress.
- Write down the things you are grateful for.
2. Construct Your Strategy
Change can show us our inadequacies in a very painful way. However, it can also be an opportunity to identify what our strengths are and how we can address our weaknesses. Before that process can take place, we need to put things in perspective first.
When you’ve taken the time to anchor yourself you can now think about your next steps — you need to come up with a strategy. Think of your strategy as constructing a building from the ground up. You start by figuring out what resources you already have on hand and what else you will need for each phase of the construction. You need to see which of these are easily accessible to you right away and which ones need other requirements to obtain.
This is also the time to figure out what things you can and cannot control. One of the things you can control is your reaction to the situation. Try to be objective about it but consider other people’s feelings when you talk to them to create a strategy together. You can influence other people’s reaction so it is better to have an open mind on both the negative and positive effects of the change.
Try to accept the things that you cannot control and consider the things you can use to help improve the situation.
Think of what you can do at the present moment to make the situation better or at least to improve the future situation. Think, short-term, medium term and long-term. This way, you have a strategy for dealing with any type of hurdles that may come your way. While you aim to accomplish the long-term results, be sure that your strategy is well-defined and flexible enough to accommodate some adjustments when necessary.
3. Thread Slowly but Surely
The time of great change is also a time of uncertainty. Keep in mind that the change you are going through may continue to unfold for a long time. So focus on the present moment and take things one day at a time. Just like threading in water, don’t exhaust yourself by paddling too hard only to find out you’ve moved only a small distance. Instead of reaching the shore, you end up drowning because you are too exhausted to swim your way to shore.
Don’t be too harsh on yourself and others. Be patient as you carry out your strategy. Pace yourself and make adjustments as you need to along the way. Rest when you need to so you don’t burn out. This way, you don’t get stressed out or frustrated when things don’t go as planned.
Keep yourself anchored through self-care practices so you have the mental and physical energy to sustain you through this phase. Celebrate small victories. You may feel disheartened at times but don’t lose hope. Remind yourself that the current situation is temporary and that this too will pass.
Change can be bad or good depending on our mindset. Hopefully, these tips will help you become better on how to deal with change in your life instead of being lost in the transition.
Feature Image: Original Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay.
