Most of us are taught to approach life in a very linear way; life appears to move forward, right? And as life moves on, it’s logical that the more change and transition you go through, the more opportunity you have to perceive the patterns of your life, how you handle change, and whether or not you can successfully negotiate and navigate necessary transitions, both those you initiate and those that just come about on their own.
Being able to assess, to understand, to know where you are at any given point is a very valuable tool. By the time you are a young adult you’ve experienced enough to know some essential things about yourself: what you like and what you don’t like, what you excel at and what you have no interest in, what your special talents and gifts are, what really works for you, and what falls short of your reasonable expectations.
So, you have to know yourself well enough to know what you want, what you realistically can do, and you have to have some idea, and ideally some plans about how to accomplish that. Most certainly, you want to be able to identify what you want as opposed to what others want for you.
So what happens when life gets in the way of your plans and you’re forced to change course? What are some typical thoughts and feelings that you might experience?
Recognize that change is essential for living a fruitful life. Fear of change, fear of stepping into the unknown, creates a monolithic existence, often dull, narrow in scope, and uninspired. Change creates possibility.
A situation where you have little control, at first, might seem overwhelming and daunting, so it’s a good idea to break it down into smaller pieces, giving yourself a better chance to wrap your head around what’s happening and what you’ll need to do.
Once you’ve made a firm decision to shift gears and put your own plans aside for the time being, you’ll be less affected by the emotions of change. Now you can fully address the practical matters that have to be attended to that might include getting your current life in order so that you can shift direction. In other words, take care of your own business.
The realization that things aren’t what you want them to be may be accompanied by any number of emotions and their degree of severity: fear, frustration, resentment, guilt, anxiety and/or depression, and even panic. The realization or insight may hit that the choices or decisions you’ve made aren’t working---maybe never did, maybe never will. Perhaps the direction your life has taken had more to do with influential people around you and you want and intend to do something different for yourself now.
Decide to take ownership and responsibility for your life’s choices and their consequences.
READ FULL ARTICLE How to Prepare for Life Changes | Psychology Today
