The change of season from winter to spring is one of my favourites. I love when the light of the day gets longer, and the temperature gets warmer. There is a sense of excitement, of new beginnings. In general, change can bring with it feelings of anticipation and excitement or throw in a good dose of anxiety and trepidation. Change is an unavoidable part of being a human. Fortunately, there are ways to adapt easier to change, and in fact take advantage of it.
Do not stress out about stressing out. Our beliefs about stress matter. As Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal argues in The Upside of Stress, “Your reaction to stress has a greater impact on your health and success than the stress itself. If you believe stress kills you, it will. If you believe stress is trying to carry you over a big obstacle or through a challenging situation, you’ll become more resilient and may even live longer“.
Stress can be a good thing — if you choose to see it that way.
Focus on your values instead of your fears. Remember in my last contribution to the CCK newsletter I talked about working out what your hierarchy of values are. Through reminding ourselves of what is important to us — family, friends, religious convictions, scientific achievement, great music, creative expression, and so on — can create a surprisingly powerful buffer against whatever troubles may be ailing us.
Find the humour in the situation. Trying to find the humour in an unfunny situation can be a fantastic way to create the lightness needed to see a worrisome problem from a new perspective. It can help others feel better as well. Pioneering humour researcher Rod A. Martin, who has studied the effects of different styles of humour, has found that witty banter, or “affiliative humour,” can lighten the mood and improve social interaction. Just make sure it’s inclusive and respectful. A good rule of thumb is that other people’s strife is no laughing matter, but your own struggles can be a source of comedic gold.
Remember to nourish your body. In times of higher-than-normal stress we tend to let the good habits and support that our body needs fall away. Exercise can diminish (or for some increase to higher that normal levels), less than nourishing food can be consumed. Higher than normal in a perception that it helps. Try to go back to the basics of eating and drinking clean.
Breathe! Consciously spend time focusing on your breathe. Deep rhythmic respiration is one conscious way we can tip our nervous system from the flight/fight/freeze part to the rest/digest/repair section. The old wives tale of take ten deep breathes really does work.
I’ll finish with a wonderful quote by Deepak Chopra, “All great change is preceded by chaos.” Enjoy this wild ride of life as it is in a constant state of flux. Embrace the change.
Faithfully yours,
