Choosing to Gain a Healthier Perspective on Change in Our Lives

Being Honest About Worry Recognizing That Healthy is Hard

Choosing to Gain a Healthier Perspective on Change in Our Lives

@bethvogt

I’m going through a time of transition.

To be honest, I don’t like it.

I typed those words and stopped, wondering when was the last time I wrote about my struggle with change. Searched my blog archives and found a blog post dated July 24, 2019.

Yes, I had to shake my head and smile.

I was dealing with transition almost exactly a year ago … and I’m going through another season of circumstantial shifts today.

“The only constant in life is change.” Heraclitus (535 BC-475 BC), Greek philosopher

Why am I always surprised by transitions in my life? So put out?

Change always feels like a current swirling around my ankles, subtle at first, and then becoming stronger, like a riptide, threatening to pull me under.

Why do I forget that I know how to swim? That yes, I know how to deal with riptides?

Remain calm. 2. Don’t fight the current, instead, float with the current and swim parallel to the shore. 3. Call for help if you are a weak swimmer.

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” John Maxwell (1947-), American author

The basics of escaping a riptide apply to facing times of transition:

1. Remain calm. There’s no need to panic. I’ve faced major changes in my life before and survived them. Odds are, I’ll survive this one. “We can only be calm since God controls all the circumstances.” Laila Gifty Akita, writer

2. Don’t fight the current. Isn’t the first reaction to something scary to pull away, be it unexpected change or being pulled out to sea? But the opposite thing is often the wisest choice: we need to relax into our fear. To not panic. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), former First Lady of the United States

3. Ask for help. It’s all too easy to hide when we’re having a tough time. To pretend we’re okay. But if a time of change is pulling you under with doubt, it’s time to talk to a close friend or mentor. To ask for prayer and guidance – to find out how they navigate transition. You’re not weak – you’re human. “Let’s tell the truth to people. When people ask, ‘How are you?’ have the nerve to answer truthfully.” Maya Angelou (1927-2014), American memoirist & civil rights activist