Four secrets of the process of change

By Tamara Medina Sapovalova

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you”

Change is something we all experience in our lives. However, change is not something we take on easily, as many have grown up with the idea that change could be something "bad" when in fact, it could be just the beginning of a new adventure.

Imagine what your life would be like if you felt comfortable with the idea of change, with the idea that NOTHING IS FOREVER and where you face the challenges that will constantly make you grow.

Usually the fear of changing is caused by the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Changing yourself is part of it. That's why understanding the process of change is very important:

First, identify what you want to change. This step is crucial, especially when it comes down to changing behaviour as you cannot change something you do not know.

Understand the consequences this change will have on your life and why it is important that you make the change NOW. Try to consider the benefits that this will bring, but mostly, the negative effects that not changing can have on your life. For example, if you are thinking of starting a new venture, scaling to a new country, or changing your time management habits to be more productive.

You need to communicate, verbalise and share with others what you want to do and how you plan to do it. Talking to someone and saying things out loud will help you confirm the reasons for change. When you are telling someone what you intend to do, you are taking responsibility for making that happen. What is interesting is that many people can identify what they want to change, understand why they want to do it, and the consequences they will face if no change is made. They also share it with other people, but they are not acting and keep coming up with thousands of excuses to explain why they haven't yet made those changes.

This is the only step that will help you not only change effectively, but also make what you want to achieve permanent and tangible. The fourth step is to TAKE ACTION!

Here are some tips that will help:

Think about your past experiences and challenges. Have you ever been in a similar situation? If so, ask yourself what you did to overcome it. The idea is that you can always use similar strategies to cope with the changes in your life.

Accept your emotions. It's natural to feel some anxiety towards change, either positive or negative. Changing cities, jobs, or schools for example are often for the better, but the anxiety is always there lurking.

Find help and support. If people helping you have had similar experiences to yours or they are good listeners it can be very beneficial. Often all we need is to talk to someone and express our feelings. When we talk things through, we feel much better.

If the change is negative, something that you don’t have any control remember that it’s only A MOMENT of your life, not something permanent. Focus on what you can learn from that experience. In general, we always learn more from negative experiences than from positive ones.

There is nothing more exciting than the opportunity to discover and experience new adventures and feel how much you grew as a person; this will only happen if we embrace change.