Life never sits still. Its always moving, always changing. But changing to change is wasted motion. Sometimes, change is good, but sometimes, it’s not. The people in your life may be the motivation for the difference. You may marry or divorce. You may have lost a loved one. It may be a necessary job change, but it could be that you may lose a career that you loved. You may have to sell a house or buy one.
Change is something that can be easy to deal with, and you might feel excited and ready for it. But sometimes, it wasn’t what you wanted, and you weren’t expecting it. That can be excruciating to handle.
Finding a way to cope with change and learning how is an integral part of self-care. Remember that you’re not a machine. You have a wide range of emotions, and you will feel them as you implement changes. You might be up one day and down the next. If you’re going through some change, take it easy on yourself. Understand that eventually, things will return to normal, or you’ll get used to your new normal.
If the change that happened was one that you didn’t want, and it involves another person, don’t jump on board the blame train. There’s no happy ending destination when you waste time traveling the blame train. Just accept that this change has happened and go about the business of learning the best way to deal with it. Accept that it will be a while before things turn out the way you’d like them to.
Change can be a long or short process. Just be patient and keep hanging in there. When the change that you’re coping with is not a pleasant one, reach out to people who are supportive of you. Let them know what’s going on. The people who care about you want what’s best for you. They’ll be happy to listen and help with whatever you need. Getting the emotions out can be beneficial when you’re coping with a change so that you don’t keep everything locked within.
Sometimes, a change is so unpleasant that it rattles you. As long as you focus your attention on what’s wrong, on what’s uncomfortable about the situation, your emotions will settle there. All you’ll see is the downside of what’s occurring. For example, you might focus on all of the bad that comes with losing a job rather than seeing the good that could come from it - such as now you’re free to start your own business or move somewhere you’ve always wanted to live and start over.
An uplifting way to practice self-care during a change is to make sure you don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Take care of what you can today, and don’t fret about tomorrow’s problem that the change may bring. Taking care of yourself needs to be at the top of your list. Keep your focus on your needs. Rest when you need to. Take five minutes to get alone and meditate if you need to. Whatever your mind or body requires, do it.
Comments
I used to resist change at all costs. I stayed "comfortable" where I was at hoping things stayed the same. It was like living in a cage, a closed, sheltered life. I've come to learn like this article says that change is coming whether I like it or not. I've gotten more comfortable with this fact. While it's not always easy to accept it's a better design for living. When I embrace the changes today, there are gifts behind each one.