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Change is HARD; am I right?
When we really think about it, even positive transitions in our life can bring about lots of stress; like getting married, or buying a new home.
Nevertheless, new beginnings will always happen in our lives, so we might as well learn to do a different dance with it. How? Well, a little concept I like to call the 3C’s of transformation.
We start with the 1st C: Challenge. Typically challenge is the starting point for growth and change. We’re no longer happy in our jobs, our living space has become too small for our needs, our partner is a jerkface; you get the idea. Some sort of challenge is usually the starting point for us to even start to consider some transformation in our lives. We can very easily get stuck here if we’re not careful.
Which brings us to the 2nd C; Choice. Choice is the pivotal piece here. We can choose how to face our challenges. I’m starting with this point about challenge because HOW you’re viewing your struggles will make the difference between success or suck-fest. Yes, I’m serious, and no, I’m not expecting you to be happy about what’s really hard in your life right now. What I am asking you to do is to consider looking at challenge as a catalyst rather than a roadblock. Look at your next or current struggles with some curiosity, rather than anger or judgment. Ask yourself how this challenge can help you grow and move forward in some way.
I can’t stress the importance of this point enough, because this will allow you to shift from powerless to empowered, from stuck in anger to moving forward.
Once you’re able to sit with this challenge, and figure out the opportunity within it, you can move on to another level of choice. You can decide how, if, what, and when you want to take action.
And that brings us to the 3rd and final C; Change. Change is what happens as a result of our challenges, and our choices to relate to and act on them. If we’re miserable in this job we’ve been working at for years, we can make changes by updating our resume, going back to school, or looking for other job opportunities. If we’re frustrated with our tiny-a** apartment, we might decide to finally contact that mortgage company, and see if we can buy a house. If our partner’s a jerkface, we can decide to have a serious conversation with them about it, or, maybe we decide it’s time to move on. Is this step scary? Absofreakinlutely. Yep, it is. But, it’s also a catapult for growth. When we make change happen in our lives, when we face it with a recognition of the opportunity it presents, we step into a better version of ourselves.
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Previously published on Transitionstherapyllc.com and is republished on Medium.
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