Change happens, and it’s the only constant in life. Why then do we fear it so much? Why do we often see it as negative or risky, and fail to also see it as an opportunity?
Why We Need to Embrace Change
There is no growth without change. We grow through facing and overcoming challenges. Whether it brings short-term advantages or disadvantages, in the long term, each change is a step in our development.
Additionally, change challenges your skills, making you more flexible and adaptable. These are key qualities if you want to succeed in life, professionally, or in your business.
Unfortunately, negative limiting beliefs will tell you that change is bad because it’s a shift away from the normal.
The truth is that the way in which you handle challenges largely determines how you will handle new ones that come up in the future. You’ll also have a list of successes you can draw on for motivation when you face the next or future obstacles.
Embracing change and seeing it as something positive is essential for cultivating a success mindset. Here are 5 techniques you can employ to help you make this shift.
This is the first in a series of 5 articles on How to Develop a Success Mindset. Here are the articles in this Series:
- How to Embrace Change and Make It Work Towards Your Success
- Why Charting Your Progress is Key as You Develop a Growth Mindset
- 6 Tips to Help You Overcome the Fear of Making Mistakes
How to Embrace Change and Make It Work for You
1. List Successes and the Positive Changes You’ve Already Made
Looking back at your past, identify the big changes you’ve faced:
- How did these changes impact you?
- Which are the changes you wish would never have happened but ended up benefiting you in some way in the long term?
Next, write down the positive results of the changes you’ve had and the successes that came up as you met these changes.
Refer to this list any time you find yourself facing a new challenge you’re not sure you can overcome. The fact that you prevailed beyond these changes is motivation enough to give you the strength to face the new challenge(s).
2. Predict and Prepare for Change
Sudden and unexpected change can be shocking and unsettling. So, it’s important to take a proactive approach and get ahead of any potential challenges you might face.
- Set aside some time regularly to strategize.
- During this time, consider anything that might happen in the future.
- Then develop a plan to deal with each contingency you’ve identified.
- When a big change or something negative occurs, you’ll be better prepared to face it with confidence.
While you cannot anticipate and prepare for all changes, having such a plan will also make it easier for you to embrace change when it happens.
3. Reduce Your Inner Critic’s Power
Negative self-talk and limiting beliefs eventually destroy your confidence. They chip away at you and make you feel inadequate.
We all have an inner critic that tells us what we can or cannot do. Sudden change provides a perfect situation for this inner critic to speak loud and derail you.
You can break this habit and replace it with a more positive and empowering one.
- First, learn to recognize when you’re doing this.
- Next, create positive affirmations that you can use to combat your inner critic.
- Finally, practise the affirmations and teach yourself to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
Your inner critic is one of the biggest sources of lack of confidence, self-sabotage and imposter syndrome. Working with a Coach will help you significantly reduce your inner critic’s power in a short time.
4. Surround Yourself with Positive People
How you feel about change is an essential part of your mindset. Additionally, the way you think rubs off on others. So it’s important to surround yourself with positive-minded people. You can draw on their positivity for inspiration whenever you need it.
Every person needs a community of people who:
- Have a success and growth mindset.
- Approach change positively.
- Are positive-minded.
- Help each other embrace change and overcome challenges.
You can also take this a step further and create a success team. This is a team of a few people whom you resonate with and who provide you with support and accountability on an ongoing basis. Check out this article with tips on 5 members you need to include in your success team.
5. Focus on the Big Picture
Change is usually just a bump in the road called life. These bumps might cause you to have a tough time today, this week, this month, this quarter, or even this year.
But if you look at the big picture, you will often see that most changes open doors to new opportunities. Even those that don’t lead to opportunities lead to growth if you allow yourself to learn from the change.
Everything that we label as bad can be turned into a gift or opportunity to quote Shirzad Chamine, the author of Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential AND HOW YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOURS.
We may not see this as the change is occurring. But it is possible to foster this perspective the moment change strikes, as it helps you deal with the change calmly.
Over to you…
Change is inevitable. It’s the one thing we can count on throughout our lives. However, we find ourselves avoiding or trying to ignore it instead of embracing it.
When you learn how to embrace change, your life becomes richer and more fulfilling. You overcome challenges faster and move forward in life more confidently. This also has a spillover effect on those around which creates a more empowered community that supports your growth and success.
Do you want to learn more about how to embrace change and make it work for you?
Check out my program Break Free, Live Your Life which teaches you the A to Z of acquiring and sustaining a success mindset. You will learn how to get unstuck, get out of your comfort zone, and embrace change faster than before.
Click here to find out more about the Break Free coaching program so that you acquire the success mindset that helps you achieve your personal, professional or business goals without losing out on what matters most to you.
(Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash)
