If you’re a fan of science, or you’re simply aware, then you know that nothing stays the same. Most scientists will admit that every Law, every Constant that has been proven, can and probably will change over time. Even in the short span each of us has been alive, the world has changed drastically. Consider technology now and 10 years ago. Think about the people you’ve met throughout your life and how they have changed over the years in both personality and behavior. Contemplate your own thoughts, beliefs, hobbies, relationships, and morals, and how they have developed and formed who you are today.

Hopefully after that brief mental exercise, you’ve realized that most, if not all things will and do change. If not, all I can tell you is to read my posts on here and see how my writing style has changed since starting this blog, and even since my last blog post (over a year ago). OK, now we are all on the same page. Let’s keep going.

Just like the seconds in the day never stop ticking away, the universe is constantly expanding and changing, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. We are all being pushed forward in this journey we call life, and each day we move closer to the day of our death. I know, most people don’t like to talk about dying, but sometimes we just have to accept that it happens to everyone. So, if there’s no escaping death, then how do we handle it? The same way to handle change: accept it, and then embrace it. Because, as we’ve already established, the only constant is change, and we can never escape it.

Identify the Change in Your Life

I know I said that you have to accept change and then embrace it, but before you can do that, you have to identify what is actually changing in your life. Sometimes changes are subtle, such as learning a new fact that makes you think about things a little bit differently, and sometimes changes are life-altering, and can impact you immensely. Start with these questions:

1) What was this change brought on by?

It’s important to know what influences you, and if change is caused by external factors or if it comes from within. An internally influenced change usually means you are seeking self-improvement, or are unhappy with some part of your personality or behavior. An externally influenced change can come from many sources, but is typically from a source of authority or trust.

2) How do you feel about this change?

Usually when things change, we react emotionally before our thought patterns ever kick in. This is natural, and it’s important to find out what your reaction is to this change, because it will be important when you are coming to accept it into your life. A change that makes you angry or frustrated will need to be treated differently than a change that makes you happy or relieved.

3) What IS the change?

The next obvious step is to figure out what the change actually is. Have you just moved? Changed jobs? Have a new relationship? Graduated or dropped out of school? Maybe you’ve started being more positive. Maybe you are questioning your beliefs. Maybe you’ve simply changed up your eating or exercise habits. WHATEVER it is, you will need to identify what the change is in order to move toward accepting and then embracing it.

Accepting the Change

OK, so you know what the change is, what it was caused by, and how it makes you feel. Great, but if you don’t accept this change, what happens then? Well it usually means that you are fighting the change, or aren’t fully understanding the importance of this change in your life, so let’s figure out how we move to acceptance.

1) What are the implications?

How does this change actually impact your life? Will it affect you every day? Multiple times a day? Maybe just once and then you’ll move past it? Understanding what areas of your life this change seeps into will help you move to the next step; planning.

2) Plan to accept the change.

Because change is inevitable, should we really try to fight it or reverse it? What would be the point of that? Instead, treat each change as if it were meant to happen and it was all part of the plan. When you do this, you are able to restructure your life around this change, and take the necessary steps to fully accepting it.

3) Accept it.

Stop complaining. Stop worrying about what could have happened or what might have been. This is the hardest, but most crucial stage  for all of us. You’ve figured out what caused the change and how it makes you feel, you know how it impacts your life and have begun to plan around it. The next logical thing to do is to accept the change and realize that once it happens, it will always be a part of you, for better or worse. But you’re not done yet! To truly become at peace with yourself, your life, and the universe, you must embrace whatever change has happened in your life, and continue to do so until the day that you die.

Embrace the Eternal Constant

You’ve come this far, so now what? Change is never easy in our own lives, because it directly impacts us and sometimes even those around us. But, if you can identify and then accept the changes that come into your life, you will be on your way to becoming a much happier and more relaxed human being. So what though? What does all this mean in the grand scheme of things? The Eternal Constant. The universe and everything in it are always changing, including every single one of us. That means we are all united by at least one common trait (constant change), and it’s the most important one. When we realize that that simple fact connects every person on the planet to every living and non living thing in the entire universe, then we start to see the big picture: we are all in this together.

No matter our personal story, we are all made up of the same stuff, and we are all people experiencing life through an individual perspective. When we realize that each person has their own personal struggles, we begin to feel empathy for others. When we feel empathy, we seek comfort for those who feel suffering. When we seek comfort for others who are suffering, we begin to change ourselves, and potentially even make changes in the world at large. When you are aware of this change you’ve made in yourself, you have come full circle.

You know what changes you have gone through or are going through, you have accepted these changes and planned to implement them into your life, and now you have fully embraced change as a whole. It seems crazy, but once you realize that change is a natural part of your life, you begin to understand that it is part of everyone’s life, and you will begin to crave it. You will feed off of the unexpected, you will push for changing what you see wrong with the world, you will start treating every person you meet with equal respect and love, and you will be happy. You will be happy each and every day of your life, because you know that everything that has happened did so for a reason, and you will be able to accept it regardless of the situation.

This is something that I have recently fully embraced in my own life, and felt the need the share. I hope these steps to accepting and embracing change will help you the way they have helped me. I would love to hear your personal stories of how changes in your life have impacted you and changed your perspective. Please feel free to provide your own tips on accepting and embracing change, they might just help someone too! Thank you for reading 🙂