We know that change is not easy sometimes, especially if it’s been thrust upon us by surprise. There are adjustments we need to make. Some disruptions make our lives unnecessarily difficult. We are upset because we were not expecting it and miss the comfort of how life was before the change. After all, we didn’t ask for change. Life was going as it should be, or so we thought, and now we must face the change. We sullenly accept the new way of living, we do nothing more than view this change as something we must adapt to, we talk about what we are missing, or what we are going to miss. It is natural to miss the people and things we enjoyed, those things that were good for us, things that made our life convenient as we went about our daily routines. However, there are some other details in change that we are missing, that if we choose to pay attention, are valuable because of change.
I wanted to mention the relevance of change when we want to bring it to fruition in our lives. We see the change as an achievement of our desired result. We expect by bringing about our change there will be an improvement to our life. Whether we face challenges we expected or uneven the unexpected, our striving and pushing through to the change, we see as well worth the effort. We look back with satisfaction at how we persevered. It could be a life-altering experience for us. I’d say that even with this wanted change we might sometimes not comprehend its significance.
I’d like to give you an analogy of the significance of your change, and hopefully, it will make it easier for you to accept any unwelcomed change in your life. We can all agree that we have one life and we should live it to our best. I offer that another perspective to have is that through change we can live multiple lives through this one life. However, you term it, my goal is for you to see possibilities you ignored. Imagine with your eyes closed, the trajectory of your life before your change. Now, imagine the trajectory of your life, after your change. What do you see? I hope that you see two different lives but lived by the same person. One life has its own experiences and outcomes without the change you intended to make. The second life has its own experiences and outcomes with the change you intended to make. I would argue that by making your self-induced changes you have altered your reality, your life path, or whatever you choose to name this experience. This is miraculous, that you have this power, this control, over your life. Now I offer to you that this same type of experience is possible when a change in our life catches us by surprise. I’m thinking pandemic forced to change.
Many of us would probably replace the word change with havoc when it comes to the upheaval of change brought about by the pandemic, and I’d be pretending otherwise if I did not feel the same. Some of us have lost loved ones. It’s disrupted our way of living. We are still not back to normal whatever that is for us individually and as a group. What we thought normal, may never return. There are adjustments that we will have no choice but to work ourselves into, as we know the world will continue to operate and move forward. We do need patience with ourselves and others as we become accustomed to our new way of living. We need to remind ourselves; the older generations have dealt with pandemics and other disruptions on our planet. They also had to face these unwelcomed changes and they endured. It is a testament to their endurance and proof they adapted to change because we are here. Once we have processed our grief and adapted to changes as they must be, we should analyze why we choose to reminisce about our normalcy and our routines. We shouldn't ignore the possibilities for our futures.
I am not discounting your desire to return to normalcy, your routines, and that you miss them, but it’s important to understand why they hold value in your life. Yes, we do need routines that keep us and society functioning but that is not what I am discussing. I am pointing to a return to things as they were because we think that is most natural for us, it is what we have been accustomed to, and what we think is normal. Is there a possibility that this forced change is impressing upon us to look at ourselves and the world differently? There is nothing wrong with missing what was past but is it keeping you from what you never thought possible?
This pandemic has forced change upon us, and we are still changing, it should remind us that we can bring about change for ourselves, by our own will. Remind yourself how different your life looks now compared to before, when you hadn’t made the changes you intended. If you haven’t had this experience, I recommend envisioning your current and future self and who is responsible for you getting to the life of your future self. The changes that this pandemic has brought upon us don’t have to be a daily dreary experience of wishing for what was past. It should be exciting for you once have an awareness of the future potential you possess as willed by you. It's within your control to make changes for your benefit that are not determined by this pandemic.
I always like to remind my readers about taking advice. I’ve made some suggestions for you to consider. I’ve shared things that have worked for me. More importantly, I’ve shared things that will hopefully evoke you into being your problem solver. If something doesn’t work for you, please resolve that there will be something that works for you. It requires your discovery. The life journey you are on is unique to you and so should be the solutions you discover.
David is the owner of Partnerships for Performance.com a personal transformational coaching company.
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