Embracing Change [Mental Health]

“The only constant in life is change.” – Heraclitus

Change happens around us all the time, but it’s either so subtle we don’t notice it or so frequent that we stop noticing it. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not, but in both cases, we usually have no control over it. All we can do is accept these shifts and carry on focusing on the things we do have control over.

I’m experiencing one of those bigger changes: starting a new job. It’s a full-time writing gig with a great company (ranked as one of the best places to work in the State of Florida) and I’m excited. Of course, it’s going to be a big change for me. Not only more responsibility, but new things to learn. There’s a style guide I need to study, new terminology, new people to get to know, new processes, new routines.

A new job isn’t just shifting offices (or in my case, logging in remotely to a new network), it’s also going to affect my daily life. I’ll be working different hours, which means I’ll have to adjust my cooking schedule, my daily workouts, when I have my creative time. Not that these are bad changes, just shifting the times when I do these things.

The way I look at it, change is good. I mean, I like routine. I’m a creature of habit, but at the same time, I think changing routines and habits can be good for us. I think we can often get into a rut when we’re in a routine for too long. We go from actively doing these things to doing them on auto-pilot. The passion subsides. We’re just going through the motions.

Then change comes along and we have to adjust not only our routine but the way we think. We have to pay attention to what’s happening. It wakes up our brains and we have to actively participate once again.

One of the things I like to do is incorporate change into my routines. For example, I work out in the morning around the same time, five days a week. That’s my routine. But to keep things interesting and my mind active, I do a different workout each time. Some mornings it’s upper body, other mornings lower body. Another day it may be yoga or pilates. So while I maintain an exercise routine, the content of that routine is constantly changing.

Change isn’t always easy, but when it happens we have to be able to adjust and adapt. I’m looking at my new job as a new adventure, an opportunity to learn new things, meet new people, embrace new ideas, and maybe help the company change old routines into new ones.

This isn’t just about me adapting to them, but they also have to adapt to me. Change goes both ways and I’m hoping that, together, we can make something wonderful happen.

RB