Changing it up...

If fall has a theme, it’s all about change—in the air, the temperatures and even our schedules. Yes, summer’s out, autumn’s in. The days are crisper, the nights are chilly (sometimes frosty) and our calendars seem to fill quickly after the slower pace of summer.

Personally, I love this time of year, and I love change. It’s been said a change is as good as a rest, for me, it’s just another word for new adventures, opportunities and experiences – like accepting a new gig as the editor of a great city magazine.

This week, just one day after returning from a 10-day personal development course in Florida, I’ve hit the ground running, editing my first issue of Winnipeg Women/Winnipeg Men magazine.

When I’m navigating change in my life – big or small – here are a few ways I’ve found that ease the transition.

Changing it up…

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell

1) Choose, and create, the change that you’d prefer.

Dr. Frederick Hudson, co-founder of the Hudson Institute and an expert in adult development and professional life coaching, advises people to “imagine the future they prefer.” Hudson says when we are writing, editing and reinventing the story that is our lives, many of us run out of script long before the final cut. It is up to us to visualize, reinvent ourselves if necessary, and create the future that we truly want.

2) Find what, and who, nourishes you.

We are the directors of our own lives, and it’s up to us to choose the location, and surround ourselves with people, places and work that nourish us.

I have lived, worked and studied on four continents, changed careers and residences often, and been in and out of relationships perhaps a few more times tha
I’d like to count. None of this reflects a lack focus or commitment, but rather that I continue to reinvent my self and my surroundings… including people who support, encourage and inspire me.

3) Don’t let your future be behind you.

We have to make peace with the past and leave it behind us, or we’ll simply drag our desperation, uncertainty and ineffective patterns into the future. As author Debbie Ford says, “The power you need is there, but it will only come out when your desire to change your life is stronger than your desire to stay the same.”

If we really want to move forward, we have to close door to the past without leaving it ajar. With one foot planted in the past, we are unable to walk freely and confidently through to the future.

Change takes place in the present, not the past.

4) Change your perspective, change your experience.

Old patterns, behaviours and roles are familiar; we take comfort in what we know, but what we ‘know’ is rarely what we need.

Starting new jobs, businesses or relationships can be steeped in fear or filled with excitement, unlimited possibilities and growth. It’s all in how you frame it.

As Wayne Dyer says: Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.

5) Reach out and connect

Big changes require big support. At a recent Avatar course, a worldwide organization that is working to change the collective consciousness, one of the leaders said this:

Remember the space that separates us, is also the space that connects us. Reach into that space.

And that, my friends, is the place where real change happens.