There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.” – Louis L’Amour
Change is the only constant thing in our lives. We all experience it yet most of the time we don’t see it coming. These kinds of unforeseen circumstances I refer to as sudden changes and can impact our daily routines in positive and negative ways.
Just because a change is sudden doesn’t mean it’s serious. Often it’s the little things that affect us in our day to day lives such as times, places and dates being swapped which causes us some initial stress.
When something in your environment changes from something as big as a good friend moving away or something as small as your favorite website being redesigned it is only natural to be on edge. Yet change brings great new opportunities to our doorstep.
Of course in almost all of our lives we go through periods of more extreme changes such as losing our jobs or loved ones passing away. In times like these it’s common for people to feel a sense of shock, confusion or uncertainty and feelings of panic or grief can often feel overwhelm us.
Whether it is something small or large the important thing is to understand how to move forward in order to consciously create the life you want. And to help you with this I’ve made a list of 5 tools you can use to help you on a daily basis!
1. Acknowledge the situation. When we go through stressful events it is so easily to deny them even happening. This is a way we can momentarily feel relief yet it only stops us from moving forward and growing from the situation. Facing what’s happening boldly is the first step to bouncing back from obstacles.
2. Stay in the present. The practice of mindfulness is a great tool we can use anytime, anywhere to relieve our stress and anxieties. By doing so we are not dwelling on what has happened or what might happen – we are experiencing the present moment, taking notice of the beauty that is already around us.
A trap that people often fall in is becoming ‘too’ present. When you are mindful you shouldn’t stop planning ahead – you become aware of where you are moving ahead from!
3. Let go of the past. Often when our loves change we long for the past when they were back to how they were. Let go of wanting to recreate your past and learn from what has happened.
4. Seek positivity! Look to the future with the eyes of an optimist. When things change it is common to feel down – but don’t let yourself become a victim to your circumstances. You can create the life you want to live not by avoiding change but creating new positive changes in your life.
5. Look for others. There are so many millions of people in this world how could this have just happened to you alone? By talking to other people who have been through the same experiences that you are going through you will get a boost of inspiration and joy to realize you are not alone.
Change is hard and yet change cannot be helped. The most important thing to determine is what you can and can’t control. Create the life you desire by changing the things you can and become at peace with your world by changing the attitudes you hold about things you can’t.