How've you been dealing with change lately? I've been speaking to a lot of students recently going through some big shifts.Change can be hard. There's been a lot of change in my life as of late and it has been a lot to handle. I'm feeling excitement, anxiousness, and a slew of other emotions. It can be challenging to face the unknown and all the emotions that come with it.
When I feel like I'm about to explode with all of these emotions, I come back to my mat and meditation cushion. I take the time to connect to the silent space within and remember that this moment is exactly as it needs to be. I'm reminded that I don't need to be anywhere else but here right now and that everything is in process to a greater evolution of being. It's sometimes hard, though. And, I am not always ready to see the positive.
Inspired by my mediations this past week, I wrote a simple blog entitled, "The 3 Steps to Process Change With Grace." It's short and sweet and I hope it helps you to best process everything you're feeling and to move forward in the most positive way. Enjoy.
Step 1) Honor all of your feelings.
With change, it's natural for fears to come up. It's important to honor these changes and the feelings that come up. Validate them. Go through the grieving process if you need to. That's the first step. Carl Jung said, “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. ... Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness.” Here he is saying that we wouldn’t know true happiness if we didn’t feel sadness and other uncomfortable emotions. The key is learning how to manage them with grace without freaking out.
Step 2) Let it Breathe.
It's important to breathe deep when fear and anxiety come up. When we take deep diaphragmatic breaths, we stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system, (our relaxation response). This keeps up from freaking out and calms us down. When we repeat this pattern, our mind will start to calm our body down faster and faster overtime, because it develops new neural pathways. The other meaning of "let it breathe," is to give whatever situation you're going through time and space to heal. Don't make strong decisions when strong emotions are present. Take time to process them and think things through. Processing time is key.
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Step 3) See the Positive.
We can often tend to only focus on we've lost in the midst of change. But we might get stuck along the way and become blind to the opportunities present. There might be some positive things opening up waiting to be discovered. Don't forget to look at these positive shifts. There are always silver linings everywhere. Everything might not happen for a reason but, it's our job to make meaning out of what does happen. How do you focus on the positive when fear is taking over? Start with the little things. Look at the small ways in which you are grateful. Look for the small bright spots in any challenging situation. You will start to build a sense of resilience and inner strength each time you do and you will be able to take the necessary steps to move forward in your life in a positive way.