“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them — that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” – Lao Tzu
The most painful changes in my life were the ones that brought me the most growth.
The death of my previous husband was one such change.
With a good dose of hindsight, I can say that those cataclysmic changes, the ones that seem impossible to deal with at first, often have the biggest, most profound lessons to teach us.
Without these lessons, without these opportunities for growth, we would stagnate, never reaching our true potential.
Without change, we would never see how much we can overcome, how much we can achieve.
Yes, there is a part of me (half of me to be exact) that dislikes change — the challenging, painful change that I perceive brings me more loss than gain.
And the other half of me craves change — the nice, pleasurable change that (in my perception) brings me more gain than loss.
But I know that I need both types of change.
I am especially inspired by Einstein’s belief that imagination is the preview of life’s coming attractions. And as such, I too believe that we can predict the future by creating it, first in our imagination, then through our individualized action steps and energy we put into the physical manifestations of our imaginations.
I use the same approach for change:
I first IMAGINE the change I wish to see in my life— I picture it clearly in my mind’s eye, deciding on the magnitude and type of change. Next, I PLAN my yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily ACTION STEPS I can take to bring about the desired change.
By initiating change in this manner, through planned action steps, I feel a bit more in control of my life.
Of course, there will always be those changes I just didn’t see coming; changes I could never have predicted or foreseen. Like the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, I can still CHOOSE how I wish to respond to these unexpected changes by picturing my desired response(s) and then deciding on the ACTION STEPS accordingly.
This way, I become empowered by change, allowing it to become a wonderful opportunity for self-growth.
That being said, I understand that change can often be scary and difficult to accept.
But, as Heraclitus once said, “The only constant in life is change.”
And as someone who has experienced a great deal of life-altering changes, changes that have shaken me to the core, I know that there is only one way to deal with change: to embrace it.
To be open to it. To be receptive to it. To trust the process.
How do you respond to the changes in your life? Every new year seem to bring changes. It will be true for 2021 as well.
Do you dig in your heels and cling to the way things were before?
Do you approach change with fear and anxiety?
Or do you go with the flow and make the best of the changes you are experiencing.
Drop me an email at ilze@ilzealberts.com or WhatsApp me if the fear of change is stopping you from living life the way you want to live it: boldly, bravely, meaningfully.
We can set up a call (no charge) to explore how you start embracing change, letting go of all the things that no longer serve you.
From my heart to yours,
Ilze
