Change has multiple components. Four, if you will.
First, you’ll begin to feel a need for it; you’ll feel off balanced. You’ll develop resistance towards what may have been an ‘everyday’ occurrence that has reaped normalcy in the past but at this moment feels unshakably troublesome. You’ll become short tempered, not necessarily in an outward manner but internally with your own thoughts… you’ll quicken your silent mental pivots in search of comfort. You may find yourself seeking stimulation elsewhere or more so than before - these experiences while happening together and more frequent, will feel like developing the flu… slowly and then all at once. The necessity of change rears its head into the spotlight once a situation, environment, job or relationship no longer rides cohesively down the journey your life is continuing upon. Perhaps things are about to take a sharp left, something radical is around the corner, or a learning is being digested and growth is taking place. Whatever the cause may be, recognizing the need for change will be an undeniable aspect of the equation… as long as we are aware.
Once the need is recognized, reorganization begins to hold captive most of the mental energy you have. The solution or details might not be present at first, so you’ll sit on the notion that change is necessary but with no further understanding yet. Now, you must dig within.
Your work… do you love your work? Is a new job on the horizon; one more fulfilling, one more authentic to your passions?
Is it a lack of growth, of progression … is a promotion what’s next? Have you been feeling stifled or stagnant with no sight of expanding? Are you burdened financially?
What about outside of work … are your habits what need changing? Are you active?
Do you feel personal excitement to have dwindled? What colors your space?
What about time? Do you desire to gain more control over time?
Your relationships … are they needing adjusting, are you unhappy? Is there lack of communication… has the love gone? Have you lost your sense of self?
Be mindful of the head spinning repercussion of delving into this dig and trust that it will dissipate and truth will unveil. The decision making, the second component of change, is where heat will begin to kick in and the message of inviting the chaos begins to take center stage. Here is where we must push through our emotional discomfort and truly listen to what our core is telling us. Lean into the uneasiness. Where exactly is the change needed? Often, we scramble to come up with a well structured plan that may sound fitting on paper but does not represent the truth of this entire process; a plan that could be a quick fix, but will not resolve anything long term. This is where we must quiet our thoughts; let go of what society has trained us to believe to be the ‘next’ move for our age, our culture, our history… let go of peer influence, family advice and of the pressure media has constricted upon you and just listen.
What do you want to see happen?
What behavior or component is missing that would make you feel whole, satisfied, or overjoyed to develop routine in?
What do you desire?
Once this stage has passed and your move is clear, an action must follow as the next component. The third.
This is where equilibrium begins to shift and dismantling must happen in order to progress; ‘destroy and build,’ I’ve heard it phrased. Demolishing a way of thinking, a habit, routine, or lifestyle pattern in order to make room for something different could throws one’s entire life out of order for a period of time. This can feel overwhelming, or unsettling and here is where the importance of mindset comes into crucial play and a love for the continued presence of chaos must take shape. Focus on what you are gaining from the change, not what you are losing.
Remember why you began. Remain fully engaged with your deserving of richness in every single component of your life and remember that you are strong enough to welcome the destruction that comes while evoking a little re-order. Pay mind to the big-picture and to the long term aftermath of undergoing discomfort. Delay the gratification with trust. Adjustments are not always smooth transitions. Waters become murky, our speech will stutter and we will move against the current to head in a new direction; push harder than the current. The people we see everyday may differ. The route we have mastered will veer opposite. Our cognitive functions will kick into high gear as we learn, grow and evolve to our new surroundings - and this is miraculous.
Adaption, is a beautiful capability of humans and the final, the fourth component of change - not always the easiest but one worth struggling for. Become comfortable with the new. Ease into it. Value it’s presence. Respect what has occurred, to get here.
Recognize. Decide. Act. Adapt.
As always, ample gratitude for your presence
-K