Personal Development

3 Tips on Changing Your Reaction to Change

September 3, 2019

Change and I have never really had a good track record. I’d like to blame it all on the situation that is changing but 90% of the time the blame is on me. I just don’t react very well to change. That includes good changes as well.

This month I have gotten a crash course in change while I was moving out of a house I’ve lived in for most of my life and finishing up my final days at a job I’ve been at for three years. I’m somewhat used to expecting one major life change occasionally, but two at once? That would have been enough to send me into a panic attack. Surprisingly my reaction to change this time was uneventful.

I’ve done some reflecting over the past few days and I’d like to share what I’ve learned with you. Your reaction to change doesn’t have to be a bad one. With a few tips you can learn to accept the changes in your life.

Embarrassing Stories Time: My Reaction to Change in The Past

I can’t believe I’m about to share this, but just to show you how truly bad my reaction to change can be here we go….

When I was younger the time had come for me to move in to a bigger room in my house. I was so excited to have more space! I couldn’t wait to start decorating the walls with all my posters. What happened when my room was finally done? I couldn’t bring myself to spend much time in there. I’m pretty sure I slept on the sofa in my living room a time or two the first week. I was so excited to have a bigger room so I had no idea why I was acting this way.

Fast forward to moving into my first college dorm. Again, I was excited for this new adventure. I couldn’t wait to meet my roommates and start living college life. Once all my belongings were unpacked and my part of the room was all set up, I began to freak out. I tried to hold it together but eventually I lost it.I started breathing heavy and couldn’t stop crying. I ended up actually going home for the night, It was a good thing I lived relatively close to campus. I laugh about this now because I loved college. I truly found myself in those years. I can’t imagine not being able to go.

The Big Move: My Reaction to Change in The Present

This past month I expected to lose it at any moment while I was packing my belongings up and moving them into the new house. I thought for sure it would hit me the first night in the house. Needless to say, I was shocked when I didn’t have a big reaction to this new change. I almost feel like this isn’t even my house. It’s like I’m visiting someone, but they aren’t home. Obviously, that’s not the case, so how did I avoid a big reaction to change?

3 Tips for Good Reactions to Change: My Reaction to Change In the Future

So far I’ve showed you my reaction to the big changes in my life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Taking my most recent experience I have come up with a few tips for a good reaction to change. If changes are hard for you try out these tips the next time a big change is coming. For even more tips check out this article from SUCCESS

Brace Yourself for The Bad: If you’ve had bad reactions to change in the past, prepare yourself for the next big change. My mantra last month was that I may not feel great at first, but later I’m going to be okay with this change. I was prepared for a bad reaction and I accepted it rather than fear it or ignore it. I believe this was the mindset shift that helped me ditch the bad reaction.
Keep Yourself Busy: The weekend before the big move I was also working my final days at my job, so I didn’t have time to spend over-thinking about the move. I blinked my eyes and I was already moved in.
Take Some of The Stress Off: Since we were moving in on the last weekend of the month I knew it would be hard to do my normal end-of-the-week prep and end-of-the-month prep. Instead of putting it off and falling behind, I tried to do as much as I could early on. When you are prepping for a big change don’t forget about your routines and prior commitments. Se if you are able to either complete them early or reschedule it for a less hectic time.