EMBRACE THE THRILL OF POSSIBILITY

I recently had a conversation with a dear friend who was lamenting some changes happening around her.  I said, “Instead of lamenting and resisting change, why not embrace the thrill of possibility?”  She responded, “Sounds like something you’d say, but what do you mean?”

I shared that if we approached change with a feeling of excitement about what may happen, focusing on the promising potential of the good, the positive, we put ourselves in a better position to handle whatever happens with the change.  When we focus our attention and thoughts on positive outcomes we empower ourselves to greet each day with a positive outlook and this makes our days brighter and helps us focus on constructive approaches to deal with issues.

We then talked about some of the possibilities that changes bring us:

Change offers us opportunity.  Opportunity is defined as a combination of favorable circumstances or situations; a chance, especially one that offers some kind of advantage; a situation or condition favorable for the attainment of a goal.  Many don’t see changes in their lives as opportunities, but that is exactly what change offers.  Change presents a circumstance or a situation in which we can do something differently and perhaps in doing so, move closer to a goal or to achieving our dream. 

Change allows for new beginnings. When change happens, one door closes but another opens. The new beginning can bring adventure and excitement; joy and contentment to our life.

Change offers us a time to grow. Every time change happens, we can learn new things; discover new insights about ourselves and life. Even when change takes us in a direction we never imagined, there are lessons to be learned along that journey. It is said that we only learn and grow when we step outside our comfort zone. Change definitely forces us outside the comfort zone and in a way, forces us to grow.

With change comes a lesson in flexibility. Change makes us adapt to the new: people, situations, environments. It makes us be open to newness in ideas, ways of doing things, and in living. When we’re flexible, we’re more likely to be open to creative solutions and approaches to dealing with what we’re facing.

Change offers us chances to ‘rise to the occasion.”  If something isn’t going great; if there is a roadblock in the way, view it as a temporary setback.  It doesn’t have to put a negative slant on everything.  Rise to the challenge and put your creativity to work in overcoming the obstacle.  If one thing “bad” happens to you in a day, that is one “bad” moment; not a bad day.  If you develop the philosophy that there is no such thing as a bad day, only bad moments, you will be well on your way to developing the type of mindset you need to be successful in your changed environment.

Change allows us to see things through a different lens. Some changes make us step back and re-evaluate our life: where we’ve been, where we’re going, who is in or needs to be in our life, what we’re doing. Often this re-evaluation has us looking at things from a different perspective. When we are open to looking at things differently, we begin to see things in a new light, one that can guide us on this new stage of our journey. It isn’t unusual to have a reaffirmation of values through this process (or one may discover that they have strayed from their core values).

Improvements may be an outcome of change.  Things don’t just miraculously improve. Things have to be done differently for improvement to happen.  By definition, change means something becomes different.  So, oftentimes when change takes place, there is room for improvement to happen.

Strength is born out of adversity. Some change may be initially accompanied by unpleasantness (e.g., the grieving period after the loss of a loved one or the loss of anything – lifestyle, job, locale, home, etc.). Working through and overcoming the rough patch only makes us stronger. When we see that we can survive and thrive the change, our self-confidence increases and we become stronger and more resilient.

I can understand my friend lamenting change.  That is a natural and common feeling.   However, it is important never to get steeped in the sorrow.  As Albert Einstein (German born American and Nobel Prize winner) said, “Life is a field of unlimited possibilities.”  Take time to grieve what may have changed, but then we need to embrace the thrill that the awaiting unlimited possibilities offer us.  Doing so will lead to a happier and more productive life journey.