Life changes, whether we’re ready or not. A new job, a move, the end of a relationship, a new baby, a loss. Even welcome changes can feel unsettling, and difficult ones can shake us to our core.
If you’re going through a change right now, here are three things worth remembering.
1. Change can help you discover your strength
When life shifts, you often find out what you’re capable of. Stepping into the unknown takes courage, and each time you get through something new, your confidence can grow a little.
You don’t have to feel brave. Simply taking the next step, even when you’re scared, is enough. Be gentle with yourself and cheer yourself on.
2. Change can bring new understanding
New experiences bring new perspectives. As you adjust to a change, you may learn things about yourself, other people and life that you couldn’t have learned any other way.
That understanding doesn’t always come quickly. Sometimes it’s only months or years later that you see what a change taught you. And some changes are simply painful, without a neat lesson. That’s okay too.
3. Change can open new doors
When one chapter closes, others can open. A change you didn’t choose might lead you to people, places or opportunities you’d never have found otherwise.
You don’t have to see those doors yet. For now, it’s enough to stay open to the possibility that good things can still come.
Caring for yourself through change
- Keep some routines. Familiar habits can feel steadying.
- Rest. Change uses a lot of energy.
- Talk about it. Share how you feel with friends or family.
- Take it one day at a time. You don’t need to have it all figured out.
How little is enough
If you’re going through a change, write down one small thing that’s helping you cope. Remind yourself that you’ve come through changes before.
For more, read 12 reasons why resisting change is bad for your life.
For a quiet place to write your way through this season, you’ll find a guided journal on the Guides page.