Coping with Sudden Change

We all understand that change is a natural part of life, but sudden change can be very discombobulating. Sudden change can change the direction of our life, rendering all of our plans useless. Sudden change most often represents loss. It makes sense that this would be painful and hard to process. Sudden change can make life feel completely out of control. While there is some truth to feeling out of control, I invite you to embrace that you are not totally out of control because, while you cannot control the fact that change happens, you can control how you prepare for it and process it. My family motto is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Having a life that is resilient to change requires emotional resilience and practical agility. Emotional resilience is the ability to process and overcome negative emotions. In the context of coping with change, it means being able to identify and process what you are feeling and why. Knowing if you are afraid, hurt, confused or a mixture of emotions and being able to identify them will allow you to use the right de-escalation approach and get you back in the driver’s seat. Practical agility in the face of change is our ability to adapt quickly to our new circumstances. This can be fostered by not being overly attached to your current circumstances.

Embracing an understanding that nothing is forever and that everything will change can help us understand that our circumstances, whether good or bad, are temporary. Truly understanding the temporary nature of life will allow us to embrace a change mindset. Once we embrace a change mindset, we can clear out any attachments that are negatively impacting our emotional resilience. Another gift of embracing change is that we begin to let go of the past as we focus on navigating a more dynamic present. Change, even negative change, presents new opportunities. Ask yourself what can you learn in the change process and how can you use the moment of change to let go of the things that were not working for you. Trust yourself; you can get through whatever changes come your way.