There’s a fact of life that’s just the hardest thing to absorb and realize in full. It seems to go against all we’ve been taught.
From the beginning, our elders want us to work towards success and fulfillment. Our parents and teachers promise that if we work hard, we will achieve our goals.
This is all well and good, but what they don’t tell us is that achieving your goals does not mean resting on your laurels.
That’s the hard fact I’m talking about. As human beings, we are not really capable of being satisfied. The fact is that as soon as you get what you wish for, you start wishing for something else. No one is ever rich enough, or loved enough, or powerful enough.
Oh, you may think you’re content. You may live in relative peace, enjoy your work, love the people around you. You may feel self-confident, proud of your accomplishments, secure in your everyday existence.
But every time, as soon as you relax, as soon as you think you no longer need to strive or hope or change, you will be hit upside the head with some new challenge to your peace of mind. It’s a law of nature, and no one is immune.
Contrary to all those well-meaning but incomplete teachings from people who raised us, the most important thing for us to learn and know in the bottom of our souls is that change is constant, inevitable, and not to be feared.
This is especially hard to take when the need for change suddenly materializes even though you thought everything was going along just fine. The moment you think you have things figured out is the moment to sharpen your awareness, because the jolt is coming.
Journaling can help with this difficult life lesson in a couple of ways.
First, spend some journaling sessions on your typical response to the reality of change.
- What major changes happened in your youth that shaped your reaction to change even today?
- What’s your attitude towards change? How do you react when your schedule is interrupted, or something unexpected happens? How would you characterize an appropriate response to change?
- How can you practice to form new habits with regard to changes? Work on developing responses that make you proud, and keep track of your progress in your journal.
And you can, of course, lean on your journal to help you navigate any current changes that are happening in your life.
- Describe the change you’re experiencing in precise detail. Describe your feelings.
- Write about the most positive outcome of this change that you can imagine.
- Be sure to re-read these entries after some time has passed. You will have survived the change, but also, by re-reading you strengthen your awareness and your ability to meet the challenges of change with confidence and love.
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