This is the ideal time of year for transitions. Well, change and transition are actually unavoidable right now. The season is changing, the weather is changing, the time is changing – everything is changing and “transitioning.”
The world around you and YOU are inevitably transitioning. You might as well embrace it.
Change is hard. It can be exciting and invigorating, but still scary and dreadful for those of us who are set in our ways.
However, transitions and change are also necessary and beneficial in life. Things don’t need to be vastly different – even just subtle changes enhance our health. Time and time again, research highlights both psychological (emotional) and physical benefits of the little shifts and transitions we make and take in life.
“If you do not create change, change will create you.” ~Unknown
What, specifically, can change do for us?
- Personal Growth: We discover new insights and different aspects of our lives.
- Flexibility: We are better able to adapt to new situations and environments, over a series of changes and experiences.
- Improvements: In order to make things better, we have to do things differently. Without change, there would be no improvements in life.
- Strength: As we learn to overcome the hard parts of change, we grow stronger for future experiences.
- Opportunity: Transition and change open the door for new and different opportunities in life. New opportunities also lead to greater happiness and fulfillment in life.
- New Beginnings: Whether you consider a change in life to be a new beginning or a new experience, something NEW mixes things up. Routine is safe, but it’s also really boring. We all need to spice things up once in a while to stimulate brain growth, new memories, and emotional health.
And, remember, it’s just the small things that make the difference. Seriously. Embrace the little things: a new route home from work as the daylight hours dwindle; a walk through the park to crunch the fallen leaves rather than through the neighborhood; a brisk autumn walk outside rather than the humdrum of the treadmill; an evening, candlelight yoga class instead of a sunrise class; roasted root veggies for dinner rather than a summer salad; red wine with dinner instead of white.
These small little things – they are things that lead to bigger things – and those bigger things will not only change you, but they will create you.
*Photos via Unsplash
