By Shazad
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
Alan Watts
Change is all around us. It seems to be speeding up for many folks these days. Economic concerns, political changes, Artificial Intelligence, and Climate Change… everything is so dynamic and changing everywhere you look! How is anyone supposed to make sense of the world anymore, and how is a person supposed to exist at a time like this?
The bad news first. It’s going to be challenging, and there are no simple answers. Only tradeoffs, daily habits, and a mindset shift can take some of the anxiety out of all the changes.
Let’s start with the mindset first. Change is going to happen. It’s just part of life, and it’s always been this way. Generations of people have felt the pace of change, and many were overwhelmed by things in the past, like the Industrial Revolution, the World Wars, the Great Depression, and the switch from horses pulling cars to 200+ Horsepower vehicles zooming down the streets every second. If you tune your mind to the fact that human beings have successfully faced changes in the past and sometimes very dramatic changes, you can appreciate that we all can manage the pace of change in modern times, too! It’s possible, necessary, and an opportunity for growth.
Another key point to realize is that you have agency in many parts of your life despite all the external changes. What you and I do when we wake up, what we choose to eat, the programs we watch, the people we talk to, and the attitude we bring to each new day are not just random or programmed. We can consciously choose how we show up and behave in this constantly evolving and sometimes turbulent world. It’s been that way for people in the past, and it’s still true today. It just requires conscious awareness of yourself and your environment rather than living passively or reactively. Make active choices about some aspects of your day. It can be as simple as the clothes you chose to wear today or saying no to TV/media and alcohol. A lot of life is about tradeoffs and decisions we personally make. These shape our lives bit by bit, and make our personal transformation more intentional which leads to a more manageable life. As long as you have the option for what to eat, drink, wear, worship, and think, you are free! Exercise your freedom daily!
The third key idea to unpack is related to making choices. It’s about your daily routines from the time you wake up to the time you retire for sleep. The world will try to mould you into living a certain way. Your job or school will demand a certain amount of structure and compliance with a schedule as well. Perhaps your family needs a certain amount of your fixed time each day. That’s all part of the game. In between and along the path are moments where you can decide to do or not do something. You can choose to say “I get to do this” vs “I have to do this”. When you are more willing to accept your responsibilities and you tailor at least part of your day to things you want to do and that you enjoy doing, you gain some freedom. You get to surf the wave of changes instead of being drowned by them all the time. Learn to swim, and that deluge of water hitting your body won’t be so scary all the time. Practice your balance, and getting back up again when you do fall will give you confidence in life.
There are so many things we cannot change or stop from changing. There are ways we can think about, adjust to, and prepare for when change does happen. Realizing this and acting on these ideas as I’ve described above will give you the tools to navigate your journey in the best way. Who knows…maybe you will start looking forward to changes more often and keep levelling up as a result of all the changes in your life.
Live Awesome!
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