Top 5 Tips for Embracing Change

Change is the only constant. It is a process of becoming different. As a professional learning consultant, I am always working with “change” – either trying to cause it or helping learners deal with it. I love change and thrive on it.

Recently, I have had one of the biggest changes in my life. My family and I have moved from New Delhi, India to Vancouver, B.C. Canada. This is a permanent move, so there are all sorts of changes– physical, environmental, social, professional, personal and so on.

Here are my top 5 tips for embracing change and making it work!

• 1)    Accept and embrace: It is important to realize and accept that change happens. It always does. Change is a process that is constantly happening. To move forward, we need to be aware of what’s changing and embrace it.
• 2)    Plan and prepare: We planned and prepared for this change over the last 3 years. It may seem sudden but it never is. We need to learn and change a little bit everyday and that’s the best way to deal with what we may perceive as ‘dramatic’ change.
• 3)      Communicate and share: It is always important to communicate but even so when you are going through change. Share your feelings with others who matter or who have gone through the change before. Discuss and feel light!
• 4)      Be flexible and adapt: It is good to plan but not all things go as we planned. To deal with change, we need to be flexible and adapt ourselves. Re-evaluate your skills, be open to learning and assess your plans at every step of change.
• 5)      Stay positive and happy: This is a tough one but perhaps the most important one. We can’t change every situation; we can however, change our response to it. Remember that you can’t control everything. Keep a positive attitude and stay happy as you try to walk along the new path.

Remember, change is progressive because it helps us learn and unlearn.

“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.”

~Henri Bergson~