Change is necessary for growth and progress. As I sit here drinking my coffee this morning, I‘m reflecting on this truth and my own feelings towards the changes I’m currently facing. I don’t like change because it’s uncomfortable and unknown. But these four mindsets for embracing change tend to help me not just get through seasons of change but get a little excited for new opportunities.
1. Keeping my eyes on the future
So how do I get through a season of change? By keeping my eyes focused on the future and not on the past. The past had its time. It may have been great, but the new can be just as great or even better.
2. Investigating my feelings
I find sometimes that I can get overwhelmed with the unknown. When this happens, I break down my feelings and track down where they stem from. I may feel I am not being heard or that my opinion is not being considered. Or I may be concerned that I won’t be needed anymore.
3. Recognizing that my feelings can just be a reaction to change
Coping may be all I can do at this point. Sometimes I find I just have to embrace my feelings, recognizing they are just a reaction to something new.
4. Prioritizing contentment and joy
Another way to deal with it is to prioritize contentment and joy by choosing to stay still and wait. What does this mean? I continue to go about my everyday life, continuing to find contentment and joy while I wait for the change to happen. Often, we fear change for nothing. Anxiety over something that I have no control over costs a lot of energy. What’s the point? The change will come anyway. And there is nothing I can do to address it, cope with it, talk through it, or whatever the case may be, until it gets here.
Change—as difficult, scary, and unknown as it is—gives us progress. Look back into the things of the past and note how things have changed. Most of the time, you will see positives, newness, and freshness. And through that, energy is found as we face a new season.
