Change Is Inevitable

I think, by now, we’ve all realised that change is an inevitable part of life. As the seasons change throughout the year, so do we. This might happen once, twice or many times and these changes may be big, small, or a mix of both. Change is inevitable… that doesn’t mean it isn’t scary.

Whether joining a new school, starting a new hobby or cutting your hair, changes will affect you. It’s up to you in what way.

There’s a lot of changes going on in my life at the moment and, to avoid worrying about them, I subconsciously put all these changes to the back of my mind. Well, until now. Something felt off tonight; I felt worried and anxious about something but, I couldn’t quite tell what.

Then, I decided to pull out a scrap piece of paper (yes, I’m a good person, I reuse my paper) and write a single sentence slap-bang in the middle, drawing a circle- very messily- around it: ‘What I could be nervous about.’

From there, I treated my thoughts, feelings and recent experiences as a mindmap (quite literally, mapping my mind) and from there drew out the main things that are important in my life right now. This could include: school, relationship, friendship, hobbies, etc.

Once I had a fair few, I started writing ideas around each topic for why they could be making me nervous. For example, around school I had the following: ‘feels weird having nothing to do’ (I’ve just had my sixth form induction day); ‘clothes to wear’ (there’s a dress code but I’m worried because all of my skirts are too tight). If you try out this method, please remember that it may take some time for you to reach what was really worrying you and, when you do, it can be messy. 

I’d gone through school, hobbies and my relationship and was half-way through friends before I realised what I was worried about. The one thing that was making me so stressed and anxious was the one thing that tied all of the main headings together: change.

Everything was going to change. At this point, I was crying. That’s okay. It felt like a dam that had been under pressure for who knows how long had finally burst open. Let it. Let those emotions pour out of you and don’t ignore them. Acknowledge how you feel and actively try to find a solution. That’s what I did and, trust me, it worked.

The first few suggestions from Google weren’t right for what I needed but, then I found it. The way I would resolve my worries would be by writing down each anxiety I had about something in my life that was going to change (e.g. lessons, school life, friendship group, my boyfriend going to a mixed school) and coming up with three positives that would come from them. I cried, a lot, but it was worth it and by the second bullet point, I realised I wasn’t afraid anymore.

This simple task allowed me to reevaluate these changes, viewing them from a positive light and then growing from them. Change is inevitable, so you might as well embrace it rather than shy away.

Look at me, I’ve turned this somewhat negative experience into a positive by not only altering the way I view change, but also writing an article to help others who are in a similar situation to how I was around 20 minutes ago. 

I hope this helped :) Have a simply marvelous day xx

• Chloë
  

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201701/10-ways-cope-big-changes

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