Life transitions are difficult. We humans have survived over the millennia by adapting to new situations and building repeatable systems to deal with them but it isn’t easy. We naturally like to expend as little energy, physical and mental, as possible. We make living on autopilot an art form. When life presents us with a surprise transition, we regress to our cave person brain and either hide or fight. While these tactics worked great for surprise attacks by wild animals, neither gets us successfully through the types of transitions we usually face today. Here are three things to remember to keep a positive perspective towards the transitional challenges we face.
Dealing with transition proactively is better than living in denial
Though it might feel better in the short run to ignore problems, the sooner we deal with them the sooner we can get past them. Some circumstances may even worsen the longer we delay. If we ignore disturbing health symptoms, we might eventually arrive at an even more difficult set of choices than if we take control of what we can while we can. If a life transition such as loss of a loved one or empty nesting has caused us to slip into a depressed funk, seeking out new activities and associations might help us recover sooner than if we go through the motions as if nothing had happened.
You are stronger than you think
Transitions are tough but you can get through them. Others have survived, and you can too. Believing in your power to rise to the challenge is an important component of successfully navigating change. This is not to say that you should expect to “snap out of it,” whatever “it” is, instantly. Be compassionate with yourself and give yourself time to work through your issue. But don’t let yourself wallow too long over what has gone before. You can rise to the demands of your the new state that you are being called to. There is perhaps more that you have to offer the world, so don’t give up. Journaling can be very helpful in getting through a period of transition.
There are people who can help you
No matter what sort of transition you are going through, there are people who can help. Seek out the help of a professional counselor if you can’t shake off depression, grief, substance abuse, or other serious issues on your own. If you can’t afford the services of a pro, you may qualify for assistance through community resources. If your issues are less acute but still troubling, finding a support group, clergy, or life coach to discuss them with can help a lot.
The first thing to consider with dealing with any challenging situation is whether this is something you have the power to change or not. If you can’t change the situation, then you have to change your attitudes and approaches to it. Have courage and go forth positively and you will more than likely look back at some point to see that the transition that was so difficult led in the end to a meaningful transformation in your life.
