The fear of change is very present in our lives. Indeed, as soon as we think we’ve reached a certain level of security, life takes charge of bringing its share of change, creating a lot of stress within us. But what if it could be different? Here are 7 tips for embracing change.

1 – Don’t resist, embrace change

When change comes as a surprise – in other words, when we weren’t expecting it, and certainly didn’t want it – we tend to resist.

Yes, at first, we repeat to ourselves: “It’s not possible, it’s a mistake.”

Then we go through a period of denial, a difficult period, as we resist with all our might something that is. Indeed, change is here, whether we like it or not.

And it’s not wanting to see it that makes it even more painful.

So, to fight the fear of change, it’s essential to stop resisting and to be able to say to ourselves: “Ok, something has just changed.”

Then breathe and move on to the other tips.

2 – Don’t try to control everything to free yourself from the fear of change

Fear of change is above all fear of the consequences it will have on our lives. Mainly because we’ve learned to want to control everything.

In effect, we say to ourselves, “My life is like this and no other!”

But life decides for itself. It’s constantly in motion, and we can’t freeze it in the way we like best.

That’s why, to free ourselves from the fear of change, it’s essential to free ourselves from our tendency to want to control everything.

In fact, we don’t control anything outside ourselves in our lives – everything is constantly changing. We only control one thing: ourselves, in other words, our inner life.

And yet, when change occurs, we cling to the outside of ourselves, as if it were us, our person, our identity.

But what if you let go? After all, you can be you in all circumstances. So breathe.

3 – Don’t be afraid of change, believe in it

Fear of change exists because we assume that any change is a bad surprise.

In fact, we think it’s up to us to decide for ourselves, in other words, if life throws its weight around, it must be bad for us.

But what if we believed the opposite?

What if we let life offer us new life options, new opportunities?

Life isn’t always comfortable, that’s for sure, but it has the flavor we give it. In other words, if we look at it with an evil eye, then it will be. But if we believe it will bring us new opportunities, new experiences, then it will.

4 – Don’t dwell on things, but let go of change

We live a lot in the past, and this feeds our fear of change. Indeed, when change does come, we spend a lot of time thinking about the past and trying to make it more beautiful and happier.

We hear ourselves saying, “It was better before.”

What if we stopped dwelling on the past and let go of change?

It’s normal to be afraid of tomorrow, because we don’t know what it will be like. But instead of feeding our fear, why not let go?

Say to yourself: “Okay, I’m afraid of change. But, I’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

And then get on with our lives.

After all, it’s not by following the painful and alarmist path of our thoughts that we’ll manage to live a happy and serene life.

In other words, don’t listen to your thoughts, concentrate on what you’re living, experiencing, feeling and doing right now.

Your thoughts won’t change anything tomorrow, but they can spoil the present moment. Detach yourself from them to free yourself from the fear of change.

5 – Fear of change: don’t give up, take action

Sometimes we feel like giving up in the face of fear of change.

We say to ourselves, “What’s the point?”

It’s true that we have no control over change itself; it just happens.

On the other hand, we are always free to respond and act.

To do this, it’s essential that you take a step aside from your fear of change. Breathe consciously and look change in the face:

What’s going on? What consequences can it have on my life in the short, medium and long term? What can I do about it? And what do I choose to do?

Action liberates.

Also, remember that life isn’t here to knock you out, so stop telling yourself that story over and over. Nobody’s out to get you. It’s not personal. So get up and do your best.

6 – Don’t fight, accompany life

Sometimes we get angry and want to fight life.

We say to ourselves, “If that’s the way it is, I’m not going to play by the rules anymore.”

In fact, this is how we end up committing acts that are at odds with our values. And, it’s to ourselves that we’ll do the most harm, because we’ll be distancing ourselves from the person we want to be.

When change comes, don’t make the love, peace and joy in your heart disappear. On the contrary, push yourself even harder against these feelings. Take a breath.

Life is offering you a new path, so rather than fighting it, why not go along for the ride?

Why choose anger over love and trust?

Look back, you’ve already been through so much, so you’ll know how to cope too.

In fact, to stop being afraid of change, transcend it with positive feelings. Don’t let anger blind you.

7 – Want change to stop being afraid of it

Life is a journey, there’s no finish line, and yet we live as if there were.

In fact, sometimes we stop in our tracks and say to ourselves: “This is it, I’ve arrived. I don’t want anything else to change.”

But that’s impossible.

Besides, why would we want to tread water, why would we want to stagnate? Life isn’t like that.

Indeed, it’s in its nature to keep us moving, to bring us new experiences.

It will never stop.

Let’s remember that life is only as good as we make it. If it scares us, we’ll always find reasons to be afraid of it.

But if we were no longer afraid, if we wanted to see changes throughout our lives, then we wouldn’t experience them in the same way. In fact, we’d no longer be surprised by them, we’d accept them more readily, and so we’d stay inside ourselves: happy and serene.

Change is part of life, and so are you.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover Coping with change: 6 tips to help you feel more Zen
Discover Change your mindset: 5 tips to seeing happiness everywhere and in everything

I recommend this inspiring book:

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson

The author uses a simple parable to address the fear and resistance often associated with change. The story features characters navigating a labyrinth in search of cheese, symbolizing the challenges and uncertainties that accompany life’s changes. The book encourages us to embrace change, adapt to new circumstances and overcome fear of the unknown by illustrating the transformative power of adjusting our mindset.

One of the reasons I particularly like this book is that it encourages people to think about the changes that occur in their personal or professional lives, and how they can accept and improve upon them.
I highly recommend it.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself