CulturallyOurs_5 ways to navigate change in life

5 Ways To Adapt To Change In Life

12.12.18
CulturallyOurs_5 ways to navigate change in life

During our conversation with Yulia Denisyuk, we were amazing by the ease with which Yulia has adapted all the changes in her life. From a young age, movement and change were a part of her life and with each movement, she learnt the truth of what she wanted to do and achieve in life. This is such a beautiful way of seeing life’s challenges that we knew we had to explore this concept further.

The only thing constant in life is change.

This statement is really quite simple and but somewhat hard to fully understand. As humans, we crave predictability and comfort even when they are not so good for us. With change comes discomfort and anxiety because we are sometimes dealing with something unknown. It doesn’t matter if that change is getting your dream job, getting married, buying a house or even welcoming a child. It is still a major change from the status quo.

Some people have an easier time than others dealing with change because they consider it as good news. Being more flexible is a skill that definitely needs to be practiced. Every time you learn to navigate through change, you’ll be better the next time.

Listed below are 5 ways to adapt to change in life for a more smooth transition into that what is inevitable.CulturallyOurs 5 ways to navigate change in lifeThe following strategies can help you weather any kind of change more comfortably and easily. They will help you during the good and not so good transitions and prepare you to handle any curve ball life might be throwing at you – especially when ‘ducking’ is not an option!

1) Set multiple goals

Most of us live in a very linear fashion – going from one activity to the next, one goal to the other. When we have a singular goal in mind, we put our everything into that particular goal or task. While focused attention is definitely beneficial, it does add a lot of stress and pressure to achieving said goal. By breaking up the goal into several smaller goals or even diversifying can help alleviate some of that stress and resistance to change. By having a fall-back plan or even alternative paths to achievement, we can learn to quickly change gears and not let stumbles, problems or even success get in our way.

2) Know your threshold limit

Try as much as we want, we are not super humans. We have a limited bandwidth – both physical and emotional – to handle situations and changes, even positive ones. Knowing and acknowledging that upper limit does take time. One way to get past this feeling is to express gratitude at whatever comes up – positive and negative – can help become more open to our experiences.

3) Ask for help/guidance

Maybe you are celebrating one year of keeping all the extra pounds off, or celebrating that first day of collage at the age of 55. No matter what mountain you are about to summit, there is always someone who has done it before and can offer guidance and support. Reach out and ask for help. There is no shame in asking for assistance. People are always willing to help a fellow human in need. Sometimes support can come in the form of a book, a blog or even a podcast interview like Yulia’s.

Looking at other’s experiences not as way to get jealous, but as a way to get motivated and inspired is always a good thing, as long as your intentions are not negative. They provide hope, strength and support. At the very least, it can show us that we are not alone in our fears and apprehensions.

4) Expect some difficulty and plan for it

Even welcome transitions like a promotion, new house or a baby involve some loss and letting go of the status quo. So if you find yourself feeling upset and resentful of these positive changes, give yourself grace. It is normal to feel that way, we are all human, after all. The key is to acknowledge those feelings of despair, doubt and sadness and then go past it to the positive, happy and elated feeling that is waiting in the sidelines.

One good way to deal with the negative is to journal your feelings. Journaling is a wonderful act that many associate with letting go. But documentation those feelings on paper, we are giving our brain permission to let them go as if to say that they are out of our brain and onto paper where they will not bother us anymore.

It can also be a good resource to look back when the situation arises again to see how you felt and how you moved past it.

5)Practice self-care regularly

Basic self-care strategies like eating healthy, exercising regularly, getting good sleep, getting deep breaths, taking regular breaks from work, getting outdoors can all help you navigate those difficult changes and situations. For more self-care ideas, check out our blog post outlining actionable steps towards self-care and self-love.

Such activities reduce stress and anxiety by training your brain and nervous system to be less anxious by channeling that energy into more positive tasks.

One quick tip – start taking some or all these tips and add them to your everyday routine when you are not stress or under pressure. That trains the brain and the body to channel pent up energy into other avenues so when the time comes, you are automatically programmed to handle change with grace and fortitude because you have other ways to release the anxiety associated with change.

The more you learn to calm your mind when you are not in a period of change, the better you will be in dealing with change when it comes.

How do you handle change in your life? We would love to know so feel free to share in the comments below. This can help each other and this community live a better life.

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