Change can always be difficult. Many of us tend to shy away from change as we get so used to what is happening in our lives and are afraid to divert from what we know. Change can vary in size. It can be as simple as changing the types of books you read or the music you listen to, or it can be a major life change such as moving to a new state or starting a new job. Change comes in all shapes and sizes. It can open up so many new opportunities for us, help us find new things that we enjoy, and help get us out of bad situations for our mental and physical well-being.
Even all of us here at Major League University have to embrace change. Whether it is something simple like updating our website or changing the way we do things because we find new methods that can impact more lives. Our own Ray McIntire left coaching college baseball to pursue his other passions with Project Sandlot and join Major League University full time. Baseball itself has embraced a lot of change over the years. The way we coach it, the way we play it, and how we enjoy it as fans. Change can be good. Being open to change can lead you to new ideas, help you improve how you treat yourself and treat others, and bring you new senses of joy.
So How Do We Embrace Change?
It may seem like breaking old habits is difficult. And you might be asking yourself, “Why leave something or change what I know so well?”. Many factors go into change, and there are a few steps that can help you embrace change:
- Remind yourself that change is ordinary and necessary: It can be challenging to see that change is standard. Just acknowledging that change is normal and inevitable will help you embrace it, especially if you’re in the middle of a transition full of unknowns at the end. Keeping yourself grounded in the fact that the change is necessary will help change your mindset.
- Prepare for change: If you know that change is necessary to put you mentally and physically in a better place, it will help you prepare yourself. Start by implementing more minor changes that are easier to cope with. If you find ways to ease yourself into change, it will be much easier to embrace the larger change when making those decisions.
- Determine the value of your change: We talk about value at Major League University a lot. Defining and determining your values helps create a healthy foundation. Determining the value of your change helps bring it purpose. It enables you to remember the benefit of your actions and allows you to reflect on why you are making the change.
- Separate yourself from the experience: This is a massive step to embracing change. We always talk about how we shouldn’t let things in life define us. Change doesn’t have to define who you are. Making a change can be part of who you are, but the journey you are on and the ultimate decision you make to embrace change won’t define who you are no matter what that change’s results.
- Talk with others about the change you face: Sometimes, it can feel like you are on the journey alone when facing change. Reach out to loved ones or friends. All of us are going through change. And almost all of us struggle to embrace it from time to time. Knowing you are not alone can help ease the scary parts of change.
- Maintain your routines and self-care: Routines are core to your foundation. Whether those routines are a healthy dinner at night, a nightly stroll or run, or daily meditation, you can always go back to them when you feel overwhelmed. No matter the outcome, you always have a foundation and core values you can come back to. Having a foundation is crucial when you are embracing change.
- Make change an adventure: We talk about reframing your mindset a lot. Especially in terms of positive self-talk. How we perceive things matters and will impact our behavior and actions in the long run. Focus on how change is valuable. Don’t think of change as something scary or negative. Those thoughts will create more worry and keep us from embracing it. If we look at change as an adventure or a journey to better ourselves, we will learn and grow from it.
- Celebrate your change: Don’t forget to celebrate yourself! We can get wrapped up in the craziness of change and forget how awesome and big of a step it is to make significant life changes. Take time to treat yourself and remember that your change is worth celebrating.
