How To Deal With Change

Change is an inevitable part of our lives. We experience a change in different proportions, bigger changes often feel like the toughest to deal with as we fear that our lives won’t be the same and we lose the comfort of where we are now. Other day to day changes seem less scary, like what we eat. However people often even eat the same foods, we all have a default food that we turn to. Growing up we would have a weekly routine that we would stick to each week.

So it is not uncommon for us even to seek comfort in the food we eat. Ever go to the same restaurant and order the same food every time you go? or maybe you fancy trying something different, have you ever felt nervous about trying something new in case it isn’t as good as your usual dish? This example shows us just how daunting change can be. If we fear trying new food, there is no wonder why the bigger changes can cause us so much stress.

When we are thinking about the stress of change we often ignore the pain of what would come from without changing. If we look at the change in the sense of weight loss, there is a tipping scale, one side wants to lose weight, become healthier, feel better about ourselves but the other side has cake, laziness, pizza, and movies. All items on both sides of the tipping scale sound great so this is why it becomes such a tough choice.

We typically will go with whatever suits us in the moment rather than what the results could be long term, tipping the scale towards one side. Unfortunately, it leaves us with unhappy consequences as we do want to lose weight. The change of having to give up the food we like and our precious time feels more painful in that moment than making the changes to achieve weight loss.

The first step in dealing with this is understanding why you want to change, whether it is weight loss like my example above, maybe it is getting a new job, leaving a relationship, or something else. List the reasons why you want the change. Then list the consequences of not changing. This often outlines why we need to change. Now you know why you need to know-how. I would advise you to pick the lowest hanging fruit, meaning pick the easiest action that you can take first, something that compliments your life and isn’t too overwhelming.

Have a think about what a typical day looks like for you, what one thing can you introduce around your non-negotiable habits that will help you to achieve the change you desire?

Think simple. Give it a go.