I believe in growth; I believe that people must learn and adapt in life. Yet, the idea of embracing change is something that I haven’t learned how to do yet.
Change has always been a hard concept for me to accept. Sure, I can understand the process of it, but I hate living through it.
Comfort, however, is something I’ve always admired, and I feel as though change brings the exact opposite. This feeling of life shifting, no longer being around what you know, or what you’re used to, does not provoke any complementary desires within me.
I would say I live, and enjoy, a very routine life—knowing exactly what to do at exactly when—therefore, when it comes to key life details and situations, I do not like surprises, and change is one of my least favorite surprises life has to offer.
Yet, life finds itself in a dance with change. In and out, embracing all the qualities it has to offer.
It happens in every aspect you can think of. In careers, personal opinions and seasons, there’s an infinite number of ways the list can continue.
As I’ve grown older, I have found myself becoming increasingly tense with change. I like my life, where things are at, and yet things still shift, move when I don’t ask them to. The biggest change in my life, and least favorite, was coming to college.
I had to uproot from my place of home, the people I surrounded myself with daily and my whole lifestyle.
Once I took the steps into this process, I realized this change was only going to get more and more difficult until I actually started working with it instead of against it.
So I did. I took the steps to make the change. I stopped procrastinating about buying dorm supplies, I gained a sense of dedication towards my classes and I showed up time and time again to events. It wasn’t necessarily enjoyable, but it was needed.
As I continued to embrace and allow the change that was happening around me to occur, I saw my life not looking as strained, and the discomfort eventually started to feel… okay.
It was hard, and very different for me, but I had to learn to be comfortable with change. Which, if you had asked me a couple of years ago, I would’ve told you that those two words were antonyms of one another.
In order to become comfortable with change, you must force yourself to genuinely trust the process. Give yourself a mindset that focuses on the notion that no matter the circumstance now, there can be and will be good in the outcome.
However, this takes time, so you have to start slowly when accepting the way life is turning. For many, that looks like acknowledging the change in your life first. Accepting that it is taking place, whether or not you want it to, and asking yourself what you are going to do about it.
You can either take part and welcome the new aspects of your life, or you can try your best to reject them. Which, speaking from experience, isn’t necessarily any more comfortable. In fact, it can get distressing.
When acknowledging change, allow your mind to look at it in a positive light. This is not your life being ruined, but your life being pruned, blossoming into a new fruit. With a more positive mindset, you can take the change on more strongly, not only accepting it but empowering it.
Yet, this can be easier said than done. When accepting change, it can also get a little overwhelming, so take your time as well. Change doesn’t always have to be this one instant, dramatic step, even though it typically always feels like that. You can stop that. You can break down the stages of your life, and pertain to each one when you are given the chance. Take the smaller steps and build up to the big things.
Change isn’t always enjoyable. In fact, it can be quite painful. Change is like the growing pains you experience as a child, a painful sensation that marks the moments of your body stretching its limits and expanding its potential.