Change and transition

Change and transition are constants in our life. We all naturally resist change. For most of us the unknown causes stress and anxiety.

Some tips to help ease life’s transitions:

Be Aware
Sounds simple…it can be! Most of us walk around and go through each day on automatic. The truth is that most of us are not aware of our thoughts and where we feel things in our bodies. Awareness can make a positive difference in how we handle situations, personally and professionally.

Before we can make any change, we have to be aware of ourselves (our thoughts) and our bodies…where in your body do you feel things when you’re stressed? Does your chest constrict? Do you feel like you got kicked in the stomach? Do the thoughts in your head feel like they’re swirling around? What about when you’re happy? Where do you feel that?

Everybody feels things in different places…the important thing is to start to familiarize yourself with how you react to things. Use what you feel in your body as a signal to yourself so that you can handle all situations in a constructive way. For instance, when I am about to enter into a stressful situation, I often feel queasy in my stomach. The moment I become aware of this, I notice the feeling and use positive self talk and a simple breathing exercise to calm myself down. And most importantly it works!!

Be Present
If we look too much to the past, we can get stuck; if we look too much into the future and anticipate too much, stress and anxiety can creep in. Stay present and be in the moment as much as possible. The minute you are aware that your thoughts are too much in the past or future, shift to the present and really live in that moment. This way life won’t pass you by. Don’t be a spectator of your life.

To learn more, read Eckhart Tolle’s book, “The Power of Now”. Check out my book suggestion list.

Gather Information
Whatever the subject is, the more information we have, the more knowledge we have. Knowledge is powerful and reduces the stress of the unknown.

Take Action – Do you feel stuck? Does it feel like your feet are in cement and you can’t move forward. Sometimes you’re not sure what the next step is, and sometimes you know, and still feel stuck. Start with a baby step. When I coach clients, I tell them I’d rather have them take baby steps and have a steady incline than a big leap where you can end up going into the wall and end up stuck again. Keep moving forward!

Positive, Self Affirming Thoughts – I’m a firm believer that we think is what happens in life. So make sure your thoughts are positive, self affirming thoughts. If we easily believe that of our negative thoughts (if we think something “bad” will happen, it will, a self fulfilling prophecy. The same is true of positive thoughts. Then why not think with positive thoughts. Make sure you’re filling yourself with the positive, not the negative. It’s your Choice!!

Positive Self Talk

“Be yourself, everybody else is taken.”

Researchers show that there is very little difference in your brain activity between doing something and imagining that you’ve done it. So whether you make a lot of mistakes or just one mistake and reproach yourself over and over, to your mind it’s all the same. If you repeatedly tell yourself you’re stupid, your mind believes it is just as if you did something stupid over and over.

Your mind does not distinguish between “believing” and “doing” so talk yourself into the person you want to become.

This is further supported by scientific research. In Sonya Lyubomirsky’s book, “The How of Happiness”, she describes the Happiness set point: 50% is our genes; 10% can be attributed to life circumstances or situations; and 40% is our intentions…meaning much of our happiness is within our control; we have the power to change.

Happiness is from within us, not from outside of us. We can choose the activities we engage in intentionally – therefore, the things we think and do every day in our lives can increase or decrease our happiness. So whatever you enjoy in life, add more of it!

Think consistent habitual positive thoughts and begin to shift the brain’s mindset to a new pattern of positive self talk.
Dr. Bruce Lipton’s research in “Biology of Belief” has made an incredible impact in the scientific world on how our beliefs influence our cells and therefore shape our lives. What a breakthrough for all of mankind!

“Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.”