Embracing change

"Any change, even a change for better is always accompanied by discomforts."

Change is the norm of life on Earth. Change is inevitable.

Where there is change there is certainly progress. And why is that so?

Imagine a world without change, we would not have invented electricity and so, we would not have had mechanized industries and so, we would not have had world trade or internet - literally, we would not have had a world like today. We would have been stuck in time.

We introduce changes because we want enhance our quality of life.

Change also happens at an individual level. We all face changes - change of job, change in place, changes in personal life and so on. Infact, the pandemic has seen a sea of changes - first completely isolating ourselves and now exposed to social life. Studies suggest that our brains are certainly taking time to adapt to the sudden social life exposure post series of lockdowns, making us all feel more exhausted.It is all the more essential we talk about change now.

Well, we cannot stop change, can we? What is important is how we adapt to change.

The more we fight against the change, the more we bring discomfort to ourselves.

But how do we adapt to the personal changes we face in our lives?

Changes may be happening at a physical level, but it has effects at emotional and psychological levels as well. What is the best way to keep up with it?

1. If possible, plan those changes taking effect in your personal life really well. Prepare yourself, your surroundings and your mind for the change. Learn something new about the change everyday. Introduce smaller changes everyday preparing yourself for the major one. This can be done with changes at a personal level which can be planned.

Once the change has come into effect you could follow the points below to make the journey easier.

2. Many a times, changes affecting you at a personal level are not completely under our control. Change in place/country, Pandemic, even a major change in our job status could happen almost suddenly too.Incases like these, it is certainly an uphill battle at first. But the journey can be made comfortable in the following ways:

a) Do not compare

The change has occurred. The worst thing to do at this point of time is to compare the present with your past. This simply makes life more miserable because physically everything around you has changed but mentally you are still stuck in time.

b) Find your comfort

Each one of us will have certain aspects that give us comfort - it could be chatting with your close friends/family, a particular daily routine you follow, a specific fragrance, the way your workspace looks etc. Identify them and include them in your new life. Experiencing change does not mean you have to necessarily change everything about you. Hang on to those giving you comfort, this familiarity will help your brain assess the change better.

c) Take little efforts everyday

The goal ultimately is to come in line with the change and own it so that you no longer have to call it a ‘change’. So take small steps everyday to take you closer to the goal - learn something little about the new place/change everyday, explore something new in line with the change everyday, if you are in a new place then socialize with one new person everyday.

d) Give yourself some time

Be patient. Big changes can be exhausting for your brain, because it not only has to assess the new environment, it also has to look for threat and keep you safe. Be as slow as possible when you expose yourself to change.Just because lockdowns have eased now, you do not need to go overboard and socialize like never before. Be slow &kind to yourself.

e) Seek help when you feel the need

Mental health is still a taboo. But let us understand that mental health and physical health go hand in hand. Like you would visit a doctor to assess a new wound/flu you can visit a professional to seek help with your emotional/mental fight. You are not alone.

As a professional student, one experiences changes at a faster pace. You go from - being a college student to studying by yourself at home; After 1-2 years of toiling hard with books you start working with people when you begin training/articleship; Articleship again offers a change in work place almost every 3 weeks; After 3 years you once again get back to studying from home and spending time mostly or only with books for you final examinations and this could be for a period of 1 year or so. Well and above all you face all this as a young adult.

It is essential, as a student, you become aware of this and learn the best way to adapt yourself to constant changes. You do not want to be left behind finding it difficult to cope up.

In a fast paced world, we need to learn to adapt more than anything. We also need to whole heartedly embrace change to take on new opportunities.

We may not be as extreme like Alaskan frogs, who freeze 60% of their bodies to survive extreme winters and ‘come back to life’ in summers. But we do have our own unique ways to deal with changes.

We as homo sapiens are also evolved to face changes.

"Adapting to changes represents an important characteristic of human nature essential for the development of human society."

And, "To improve is to change."