Adapting to Change

The world around us is constantly changing and life is measured by the milestones of change. We are in varying states of transition as we adapt to our evolution of life. There is birth, death, divorce, careers and daily changes with schedules, friendships, children and the needs of the family as we age. Anticipating change can become a natural part of life and an opportunity for personal growth.  Learning how to accept change can decrease your stress, worry, and physical or mental duress.

Phases of change

As children our parents protected us from change as it was associated with loss. Understanding that change can be a positive concept will open your mind to the possibility of the transition you are facing. Learning to accept change is an acquired skill because it is a challenge to your old belief system. It can cause a break from your routine or shift your priorities to create a complete transformation to your lifestyle. This can generate a range of emotions from fear of the unknown to anxiety, anger or even excitement.

Professional and Engineering Projects (PEP) is a consulting company that will help organizations modify their structure to produce growth. They believe there are five stages of change that we progress through. There is shock, denial, depression, insight, and learning. Once you receive the initial shock of what the change will mean to you the negativity and resistance will occupy your thoughts. You will not want to leave your “comfort zone” and attempt to avoid making the necessary adjustments. Depression is the turning point to acceptance as you realize the options are limited. Insight will bring you the vision of what needs to be reorganized for success. The learning will then evolve with the change of attitude and belief system.

Success of adapting to change

Learning the skill of accepting change will help you to face all challenges and emerge from them stronger, wiser and more self-confident. Allow yourself the time to process your options. Try to modify any black and white thinking by finding a compromise when possible. Then self-check your resistance, as you establish goals to move forward. Act or behave how you visual the transformation and begin to celebrate your small victories of accomplishments. Having the appropriate coping skills can increase your happiness in all areas of your life and relationships. Moving forward can give you a sense of order and purpose to life. This can allow you to perceive tomorrow as a new day of possibilities.   

Turn Defeat Into a Win

In a society where winning is everything…..defeat is looked upon as losing. Failing at something can also be very discouraging. Many people who encounter a set back will give up easily. The more failures that a person encounters the less willing they are, to try again. When a person experiences defeat their self-esteem is attacked and their feelings of loss can overwhelm the confidence to persevere. At some point during our life journey, failure is unavoidable despite our best efforts. 

Opportunities

 The educational process of your child isn’t just about grades. It’s a time of learning about yourself…..your strengths and weaknesses. You learn about your character, morals, and values that are important to you and how you face the challenges of life. Failure is unavoidable yet very few parents take the time to help their children understand the process of learning from defeat. It’s an opportunity to build on what was learned from the downfall so that the next time they are faced with the situation they have a chance at being more successful.

We all want our children to win but teaching them how to cope with setbacks are just as important. The more opportunities children pursue to learn new skills, the more encounters of defeat they will have in the beginning. There is a learning curve to every new experience. The more a skill is practiced, the better we become at it. Parents should lead their children by example on how to move forward after encountering an obstacle. There are many ways to achieve the goal and a multitude of ways to get there.

Patience

Failures are unavoidable……despite our best efforts it is part of the learning process. Patience is the key to success. You must have patience with yourself and patience with those who are working to achieve their goal. It doesn’t matter how many tries it took to accomplish the goal. The important thing to remember is how you finish and what you experienced from the journey to get there.

First give your children time to process the disappointment. Then praise them for their good effort and the strengths they conveyed while trying. Listen attentively while they express their pain without criticizing. They will need your emotional support and comfort during this time. When they are ready encourage them to try again and analyze what went wrong so they can improve next time. With your love and support you can help your children turn defeat into confidence.