3 Ways to Embrace Change & Thrive

Change can be scary. I have to admit, I always fight it. I have these conversations with myself in my head as if I'm talking to a child. Saying things like, "You always fight this, but you know on the other side of change is magic and growth," or "When you fight the change, you always feel stuck." These are the things I say to myself and to anyone else feeling stuck because I know them to be true. I always feel great when I push myself out of my comfort zone.

So, why do we fight it? One thing I know is that the brain is meant to protect you. So, if where you’ve been has been enough to keep you alive (at the very minimum), then your brain says, "Let's stay here—it's safe." Your brain does not give a crap if you're not happy and thriving. Getting yourself out of your comfort zone and moving onto new things can be very difficult because you're going against your own self-preservation instincts. The first step is just noticing this in your own life. One way to know you're doing this is when you feel stuck, frustrated, and bored.

I feel like as we go through life, we have ebbs and flows—times when we feel stuck and it's time to grow, and also times when we are experiencing growth. I also believe these times when we feel "stuck" sometimes mean, yes, it's right before we need to grow, but also, it can be a time we need to rest.

So, one of the first things I do to embrace change is to be kind to myself. Let myself have this rest. I'm not going to stay there too long, but I do know that it is not good to always be hustling. We need to give ourselves the space and time to reflect and to imagine what will come next. When you give yourself this space—the stillness—we then can see more clearly the direction we need to move in. So if you're feeling unsure of where you're going in your life, give yourself some time and space to reflect and meditate on it.

The First Step:

Be kind to yourself. Embrace this time of rest, and meditate and reflect on what you want and need. Then, figure out how to move in the direction of that.

Because I spent so many years of my life in survival mode, now that I feel safer, I'm not very willing to be uncomfortable. I do realize I can't always be perfectly comfy and still grow, expand, and thrive. So how do we move out of that comfort zone (which I've pointed out is a good thing) but still feel safe in our bodies? How can we not feel triggered when doing this? I have found—but have not mastered this yet—that keeping myself grounded, present, and secure is the best way for me to feel safe in my body. This way, I can embrace change and actually enjoy the process. So, how do we do this?

The Second Step – 3 Ways to Keep Yourself Grounded & in the Present Moment:

1. Get out in nature as much as possible and actually touch the ground, sit on the ground, maybe do some gardening.

2. Take a 5-minute break a few times a day to close your eyes, take a few slow deep breaths, and check in with the way you feel. Ask yourself what you need. Check in with all your senses. This brings you back into the present moment. (I have a meditation for this called Take 5 that I'll be sharing with you.)

3. Protect your energy by doing a quick meditation to clear and protect it. You could do this in the shower in the morning or at night—just imagine the water washing off the energy of the day, and then visualize protection as the clothes you put on, or skin cream, or just a white light washing over you as you get out. Be creative and create your own process. You can't really get this wrong. (I also have a meditation for this, and I'll share where you can experience it.)

The Last Step:

Actually get yourself to move forward, even if you don't know exactly where you're going. One of the ways I do this is by journaling—to figure out what I want, and then to start making small changes in my life to kinda stir things up.

Journaling is one of my favorite things to do because I feel like it's you having a conversation with your absolutely closest friend in the world: yourself. I learn so much about myself and also what is underneath my fear. With this process, I am usually able to reduce the fear and get inspired.

Some Journal Prompts You Can Use:

• If life was perfect for me right now, what would a week in my life look like? Write it out in great detail.

• If my older self could tell me the perfect path to take right now, what would that path look like?

• *What would your 8-year-old self want you to do right now?* (This is to embody playfulness on your journey—we need more of this!)

• Create a 100 List. This is a list of big and small things you want to do in your life that you haven't done yet. It's quite hard to get to 100, so I do this as an ongoing list. When I feel stuck, I look at it, cross things off, add new ones, and pick something to do that week!

This will be a great start to create a little momentum.

So, when I say, "Make some small changes in your life to stir things up," what do I mean?

Well, sometimes you just need a little something to get the ball moving. You see, everything we do in our life—every decision—creates a path that we will go on. Every time we choose something, the path adjusts. When we do the same thing every day over time, we just get more of the same results in our life, and that's when we can feel stuck.

So even just doing things like:

• Changing what you eat for breakfast.

• Changing what you wear.

• Going to a different independent coffee shop to get your morning cup.

• Driving a new way to work.

• Going to a different yoga studio.

• Trying a new workout or a new path for your daily run.

Just doing small things like this starts to change the trajectory of your life. You come in contact with new places and people. This wakes you up and helps you take the first step off the hamster wheel of life.

You start to create movement in a new direction.

So, by doing all of these things together, you create this safe, inspiring space for yourself to create and embrace the change you need in your life. Also, if there is change in your life that you feel is being forced on you, what do you do? You do exactly the same thing. We can't control everything. We can only choose the way we will respond. This is a process you can use as part of your response.

I hope this helps. It certainly helps me move through times of change—never perfectly, but in a way where I feel supported.

As some of you know, I am a meditation and breathwork instructor and create recordings for the Insight Timer App and the Aura App. This is where you can find both of the meditations I talked about. Both apps have a free version. Be sure to follow me and show me some love with a rating and testimonial over on the apps when you visit!

• Here is the Take 5 Meditation over on the Insight Timer App (one of my faves!):
  https://insig.ht/GA1lqshD3Tb?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=live_stream_share
  I use this a couple of times a day because it only takes a few moments, and it really helps me. I hope it helps you too.

• Here is the link over on Aura for Clear and Protect Your Energy:
  https://www.aurahealth.io/track/clear-protect-your-energy-tina-stinson?aftp=true

Be sure to enjoy your day! And if you want more support and want to have access to ways you can support your nervous system, reduce stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, and start to thrive in your life, then join me over in my group on Patreon: The Soul Aligned Self-Care Insiders (soon to be The Soul Aligned Life). Can't wait to see you over there!

👉Soul Aligned Self Care Insiders | Self Care, Mindset, Meditations, Finding Calm in Lifes Chaos | Patreon

Lots of love and care,
xo, T