As we continue the journey through the impacts of COVID, many of us are feeling a lot of different emotions, some positive and some not so positive. How do we move through this in a way that feels good?
Life is all about change. Change is difficult. Change happens when you move away from one thing and into another – you stop doing one thing and start doing another. This is often very difficult for our brain to process. Our brain LOVES patterns and habit. Once a habit it created, it doesn’t want to have to create a new pattern. Your brain will do everything it can to resist change – resist creating a new pattern. It will come up with every emotion and excuse it can to convince you that the change is not good. Resisting change often results in stress.
Here are four steps to quickly and efficiently move through life change and reduce the stress of change. Also, click the link below to download a worksheet tool to go with this:
Step 1: Awareness – identify the change and the emotions you are feeling, which give you the stress:
You are being told to return to the office, in person. I am sad, irritated, scared, mad…
Step 2: Identify – what is making you upset, frustrated, angry about this change:
I will not have my independence & flexibility; I will miss being around my family; I will have to deal with social pressures, having to get used to a new routine, loss of work-life balance
Step 3: Acceptance - accept that what is creating the stress for you is already in the past. Accept there is nothing you can do about the fact that it happened or that it is currently happening:
COVID is beginning to go away and although we were able to get COVID life to work, to the best of our abilities, it isn’t best suited for non-COVID life. This progression is out of our control.
Step 4: Action - after acknowledging the event is out of your control, develop a solution(s) for yourself. Envision the new future you want to create:
Map out a new post-COVID schedule for myself; Ask my manager for a hybrid work-from-home option; Reach out to my co-workers to share common thoughts & idea about re-integrating, identify a couple initial (small) steps to creating a new post-COVID social circle.
Understanding the complexities of change and how our minds manage it, is very important. Take your learnings further, listen to our Podcast on the Kubler-Ross Change Curve to gain a better understanding on where you are on the Change Curve and how to move through it quickly.
“The Only Constant in Life Is Change.”- Heraclitus.
Embrace what is happening around you and use the change to fuel your future. Also, enlisting your support team can be what ignites this within you - family, friends, coach and mentors.