5 Principles For Dealing With Change

While it might be nice to know exactly what to expect from any given day, that’s not going to be the case in life. More often than you might think, life will throw you curveballs that you probably weren’t ready for. Whether it be a new or ending relationship, a change in your job status or moving to a new city, there are changes all around us that happen every day. It’s not easy to deal with these changes, but there are ways that you can make it easier. Here are five principles to live by when dealing with changes in your life.

5. Plan for Change

The best way to adapt to change is knowing that it’s going to come in the first place. Have a contingency plan in place to make things easier on yourself. Especially in today’s economy, you never know where your job might take you. Operations could move your job to a different city or terminate your position altogether. With that in mind, it’s best to have money saved while you search for another job. Also, accept that relationships, friendships and partnerships may not last forever. Accept that changes happen, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

4. Focus on Your Health

Nothing can stress you out more quite like an unexpected change in your life. This is especially true if it’s regarding a career or relationship. During this time, it’s easy to let things slip in terms of your health. Changes can lead to depression, causing you to not take care of yourself. This results in a lack of sleep and exercise, poor eating and perhaps even substance abuse/addiction problems. Keep your physical and mental health at the forefront no matter what the change may be.

3. Keep Routines As Much As You Can

While one major aspect of your life can change in an instant, it’s important to keep the rest of your life in place surrounding that change. If you’re one of those people that takes an hour out of your day to read, exercise or another one of your favorite hobbies or activities, make sure that remains part of your life. One of the best ways of dealing with change is treating everything else in your life as business as usual.

2. Lean on People

Some changes are positive and you don’t need support from anyone, which is great! However, a lot of changes affect our lives negatively and we need to have a support system in place to keep us going. Look to friends, family members or trusted colleagues to get you through these times of change. These may end up being the people who prop you up enough to get back on your feet and back into the groove of things while you try to manage your new way of living.

1. Embrace the Positivity

With every door or window that closes, a new one opens up. This is the mindset that you should have with any form of negative change. When it comes to positive change, keep your mindset in the mood that got you to your new destination. Positivity is all around us, even in our darkest days. When you embrace that positivity, change is much easier to deal with and sometimes it’s even welcomed.