We all know that change is one of the few things in life that we can always depend on happening. And we also most likely know that change and comfort do not come together. Change takes us outside of our comfort zone and even when we initiate the change, we often still experience discomfort in the process. The keys are recognizing when it is time for change and allowing change to happen when it is outside of our control.
In my clinical work yesterday, both in group and individual work, this theme surfaced and is (coincidentally?) in alignment with the eclipse that occurred overnight. Everything in nature (including us) moves in cycles and when we can recognize that we are in a cycle or that it is time to change with the cyclical nature of things, we can find more ease in the process.
When we get quiet enough, we can often hear the guidance of our inner knowing that it is time to change or that we can make it through the changes that are occurring in our lives. However, we will still experience the discomfort as change forces us to shift from who we have been and into who we need to be according to the changes. This discomfort can cause us to question our motives to change, question our ability to handle the change, and question why the change is occurring in the first place.
When we resist changes that are already occurring or when we ignore the call of our inner wisdom that it is time to change, we often experience more negative emotions like frustration, anger, confusion, powerlessness, doubt, and fear. These emotions change our resonance or vibration and we begin to create inflammation in our system. As emotional beings, our daily emotional experiences impact our thinking patterns, our behaviors, and our physical health in a powerful way.
The link between our emotional and mental patterns and our health is becoming more and more obvious as we are seeing inflammatory diseases in people with healthy physical habits. Patterns of resistance to what is already happening in our lives or patterns of resisting change that deep down we know would be best are damaging to our mind-body system in the long term. These negative mental emotional patterns can create an environment that sets us up for illness and dis-ease. In other words, it can literally kill us.
There are a few things that can help us to overcome the resistance and to flow with change. First, the recognition of the cyclical patterns of things can help us to see that when things come up in our lives more than once, it doesn’t mean that we have failed. It means that we have another opportunity to approach the issue in a new way. We have the choice for change here.
Next, the practice of acceptance of what is can help us to find flow and ease through the journey of changes. Accepting what is happening and recognizing our choice in how to respond can bring more ease and joy rather than clamping down in inflammatory resistance.
In change that we initiate, we can also find more power in overcoming the discomfort as we revisit the deeper why behind our decision to change. If we have had a strong desire for something different, there is a reason. Practicing trust with ourselves and our deeper desire to guide us and checking back in with our WHY can keep us moving forward.
And finally, in the face of change, chosen or not, we can show up as the person we want to be when we act in alignment with our core values. Our values guide us and help us to move through the challenge of discomfort in a way that feels authentic and represents who we are becoming.
This week, I invite you to investigate your patterns in dealing with change. Notice where you may be resisting change that is already occurring or doubting yourself just because of the discomfort that comes with transformation.
I will be investigating right along with you.
Chat again soon,
k