The Smart-cut to Accept Change in Life
Acceptance towards change can be attained only through believing and trusting your potential to face it
Credits: Bhuwan Bansal
May 12, 2022
Change, as we know it, is the only constant. This is a truth we live with each day, and yet, when change comes knocking on our door, we often feel uncomfortable.
One would think that after being exposed to change every so often, our species would have grown skilled to handle the challenges that come with it. After all, we encounter change at each stage of our life. From being nervous toddlers on our first day of school, to moving from primary school to middle school, to making new friends, leaving our hometown, starting work, to even changing companies and much more!
Evidently, not all change is negative!
Change is often distressing because of one’s inability to accept and adapt to what doesn’t align with one’s beliefs or expectations. If the change is in tandem with our needs, we acknowledge and welcome it with happiness and celebration. But if our expectations are turned upside down, we usually have a disturbed, distracted, helpless or hopeless reaction. Change never leaves us, but we struggle to befriend it.
Change is an imperative and important tool for growth; we learn and expand our being, through change. We elongate our lives with its help. It is often said that greatness lies outside the comfort zone.
This is precisely why, change too, is anything but comfortable. But like most psychological skills, handling change is something that can be learnt.
Let us look at some practical strategies to not just “deal with” change, but to embrace it!
1. Prepare for Change
If it’s a change you’re anticipating in the future, do what’s in your hands to ensure a smooth transition! Start small, start manageable. Begin by implementing steps that are not too uncomfortable, and gradually ease into bigger ones. This allows your mind the time and space to welcome the change, without initiating a flight (fleeing) response.
Credits: Brett Jordan
2. Look Inward, and Cherish What You Find
It is essential to enhance psychological flexibility to accept the change. Acceptance towards change can be attained through believing, and motivating i.e., trusting your potential and capabilities; forgiving and accepting the flaws; and practising and meditating on self. Experiences of life either make you or break you, and in either case, standing upfront towards change and believing in your hard work, actions and intuition will take you one step closer to valuable growth and success in life.
3. Consider the Best-Case Scenario
This may sound cliche, but the idea is to counter the worst-case scenario your mind jumps to, automatically. Getting to assume anything about the upcoming or ongoing change, is YOUR prerogative, and since you’re already assuming SOMETHING, why not assume the best?
Your assumption may have no impact on the result, but it will affect your current state of mind. Make it worth your while.
4. Take Charge of the Change
Once you implement the abovementioned tools, you may find yourself in a comfortable position, one that makes room for growth. So why must you stop at embracing the change, when you can master it?
Credits: Tim Foster
Take up more responsibility, tap into your strengths, and proactively seat yourself at the helm of your own affairs. If it is the ambiguity of change that scares you, seek out greater clarity. Fill the gaps. You will soon realise that you are not only making things simpler for yourself, but also leading the way for others struggling with similar changes.
Never doubt your potential, experience, dedication, and honesty in life. They will eventually contribute to taking you up the ladder to your goals. As even the tiniest pinch of misfortune adds value to our lives, be courageous in taking risks and facing challenges! Cultivate and nurture them with positivity and optimism throughout your lifetime!
Author: Rakhi Gupta is Teaching & Research for Intellectual Pursuit (TRIP) fellow at JIBS.
Additional Editorial Inputs from Samreen Chhabra.