It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. – Charles Darwin
When Charles Darwin said the above words, he might have meant it for the species of animals as a whole. However, the reality is, even among humans, only those who are able to manage the changes of their environment and situation, flourish and rise in life.
They say things change, you will move on, you will forget about this in a month or two and so on. But it is really hard on our part to go through that change, for it is us who has to deal with the pain involved. Often times people who comfort us might not know the full depth of the problem we go through in our lives. And it works the other way around too. We don’t know what a person might be going through.
The rapidly changing world around us does not seem to give us enough time to adapt to the changing situations and people. Or maybe, we need to learn how to change with the situations? Studies have found out that the global social change rate is bound to increase in the coming years. This means that we have the need to adjust to the changes fast. Fortunately, we can learn how to do this.
Some tips to change with change,
- Do you feel anxious before you get into a social situation? Do thoughts like ‘what would they say?’, ‘I should say this, if someone asks me about that day’ cross your mind often? This is quite normal if you are in control of them. But when these thoughts begin tampering with your behaviours and interactions with people, you have to slow down a bit. You need to calm down and tell yourself not to overthink. With practise you can gain more confidence and face any situation boldly.
- You need to realise that what has happened cannot be changed and what could happen can be made to happen in our favour if we have a calm mind. You need to relax for that first. Sometimes you might find yourself overthinking into the night and have trouble sleeping. Maybe you should have said that, or maybe not. Maybe it could happen tomorrow, or not. A lot of your thoughts keep you on an edge and deprive you of your sleep.
- You can open up to your friends and family about your fears and ask them for solutions. A different perspective about the situation can help you gain more answers and curb your doubts. You can be cautious about yourself whenever you feel like you should not speak to people. At times like these, you must speak out.
- Learn from the past. You can always learn from your experiences about how you would react with people or situations. This way you can slowly, but steadily bring in a change in the way you react. Your past may be causing you to feel guilt, but once you use that past to change your present, your future will be good.
- Face your fears and accept challenges. The best way to overcome your fears is to face them head-on. When you take one step at a time in the new situation, you will realise you are learning and making progress.
- Go for counselling. If you feel so anxious or depressed about change, you must get psychiatric help. Psychiatric counselling will help you express your problems and doubts and clear your mind.
