Coping with change.
They say the one constant thing in life is change.
Changes are constantly happening all around us and within us,
All the time,
Moment to moment.
And yet there are some changes that are so hard to deal with.
Changes that are really challenging to accept,
To come to terms with,
To move forward with.
Those are the types of changes we will be focusing on in this talk.
As we explore how we can cope with change.
How do you cope with change?
When it's a change that you didn't expect,
You didn't ask for,
You didn't deserve.
How do you cope?
Acknowledging that it's not easy and that everyone at some point in their lives struggles with certain changes that are very challenging to deal with,
To accept,
To move forward with.
Knowing that you're not alone there.
We all have different experiences,
Different changes that might be imposed on us.
Or some maybe similar changes and each of us can react or respond differently.
Some of us can adapt to changes more easily than others.
And it's not about comparing,
It's about acknowledging how it is for you.
That's what's important.
And it's important to also reach out for support when you need it.
Find that someone that you can turn to,
That you can trust,
That can be your sounding board to hear you out when there's changes that are challenging you.
So how do you cope with changes that are hard to cope with?
What if you could start by looking at changes that you've been through in the past?
Perhaps challenging changes that you may have thought at the time you may have thought at the time you didn't know how you would get through them,
But you did.
Or you wouldn't be here now looking back on those changes,
On those challenges.
And may that bring you some hope,
Some inspiration to know that if you've done it before you can do it again.
It may be a different type of change,
A different type of challenge.
But what if you could have the faith that you can get through it?
You may not know how,
You may not know when,
You may not know any of the details.
There may be a whole range of unknowns that could be causing you fear.
But what if,
Instead of looking at the unknown with fear,
What if you could look at the unknown with curiosity?
What if you could look at the unknown with wonder?
Just like the innocence of a child.
What if you could even look at the unknown with excitement?
Of course it depends on what it is you're facing,
Or what you believe to be facing.
But what if it was possible?
What if what you don't know,
How do you know that what you don't know is something to be fearful of?
How do you know that the unknown will be a bad thing,
Will leave you worse off?
What if the unknown is actually a good thing,
You just don't know it yet?
Would that belief in that possibility bring you some hope,
Some faith in the unknown future that lies ahead of you?
Particularly if it relates to some changes that you're facing right now with a whole lot of unknowns.
And asking yourself the question again,
How do you cope with change that's hard to cope with?
What if the change can be easier to cope with by simply looking at how you've coped with change before?
It may have been a long drawn-out process,
But if the process is over you've coped with it.
And so what if you could use that to give you faith that you can do it again,
You can cope again with the current changes,
Even though they might be different than what they were in the past.
And feeling into that possibility of believing that the unknown does not have to be something to be fearful of.
You don't have to necessarily feel the fear and do it anyway.
What if instead of feeling the fear you could feel something different,
Such as curiosity,
Such as wonder,
Or even such as excitement,
That something new awaits you?
