Preparing for change. Sounds kind of contradictory, don’t you think? You know change is coming, but you don’t know what it is, so how can you prepare for it? The thing is, you can’t. Sure, you can attempt to mentally reconcile the fact that you might have to survive on Mac and cheese for a while or perhaps that this change will bring you the freedom to have chocolate chip pancakes in bed every morning while you watch reruns of Fresh Prince on your DVR. When it comes down to it, though, the infinite possibilities that come with change are enough to cause spontaneous fainting and brain combustion when you try to plan for them.
That lesson took me a while to learn.
See, I’m currently in the throes of my second semester as a senior in college, without a job and with no idea what city (or heck, what country) I’ll end up in come May. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that I’m scared out of my mind. Having no control does not go over well with a control-freak like me.
But you know what? This isn’t the only time in my life that I’m not going to be able to control something. It would do me some good to let go of my natural tendencies to grab the reins and steer and instead relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy myself. I want my life to be about the ride and not about the times I dictated every detail. I want to look back and be able to remember the fun and spontaneous moments that popped up, and not be forced to regret the stress and anxiety I imposed on myself while attempting to micromanage my own life.
I’m taking this opportunity to set myself free from myself. As tech-savvy Millennials and young Gen X-ers, our worlds are saturated with inspiration, motivation, and incentive to be unique and live our lives differently. We’re not the generation our parents were; we don’t settle for an underwhelming 9-5 and a life planned according to milestones of weddings and children and 401ks and retirement. Our lives have the opportunity to be dynamic and unpredictable, and I’m stepping up to the challenge of being fluid enough to enjoy it.
I’m sure I will still fret about my future. But instead of preparing for change and making myself dizzy with futile attempts to plan the unknown, I am going to appreciate the process of my own life unfolding. Like many of my fellow Type A-ers, this may turn out to be the biggest challenge I’ve yet to encounter, but I’m ready to go.
Are you?
I agree. Adaptability is a virtue.
I also loved this part, “Our lives have the opportunity to be dynamic and unpredictable, and I’m stepping up to the challenge of being fluid enough to enjoy it.”
I love that you said “opportunity,” as though it doesn’t HAVE to be, but if we want it to? It’s already there waiting in front of us. LOVED this.
“Our lives have the opportunity to be dynamic and unpredictable, and I’m stepping up to the challenge of being fluid enough to enjoy it.”
This reminds me of Bruce Lee’s famous “be like water” quote. He thought that adaptability was man’s greatest asset, whether it be in a fight or in life.
To me this post strikes a great balance. It’s not about living recklessly but about living with the confidence that you’ve done the hard work and the preparation needed to be ready for the changes coming.
Using another fighter metaphor, we say that the fight is won in the gym. Everyday you sweat and bleed and by the time you enter the ring, the man most prepared wins the battle. Part of that preparation is to be ready for what the other man throws at you, whatever that may be. The work is done in the gym. The fight is the fun part.
Congrats on surviving the work, now get ready for some fun!
The fighter metaphor is such a good one; we used the same one when I played soccer. It’s like as long as you’re responsible and level-headed and work hard, your life is already open to change and exciting opportunities. Like spontaneous trips to Atlanta or new jobs or fun adventures. We’re at the right stage in our lives for those things, no doubt.
I love this. I used to be a planner. I had to have everything mapped out before I made any big decisions, made any life changing maneuvers. Then one day I threw caution to the wind and took a giant leap without any plans. And it has worked out WONDERFULLY. I think that if I had planned this out, the things I’ve been through never would have happened. Opportunities that you weren’t expecting will sometimes pop up. Here’s to letting change happen!
You are absolutely a great example of just embracing life and not getting caught up on all the little details that can derail your plans. I’m so excited for your next adventure!
Right just live life carelessly and on a whim, whoooo this is fun. Hey maybe I shouldn’t worry about weather or not I’ll get diabetes tomorrow and eat all this junk food now because it makes me feel good.
Change is inevitable and you can’t prepare for everything. But you can develop the habits and mentality to deal and cope with change to be prepared for it.
I’m not disagreeing with you at all; in fact you bring up a great point that there are certain habits that we need to develop in order to accept change in a healthy way. For me, the challenge is learning to let that process happen and not get hung up on the stress it can sometimes cause.
Good perspective. Sometimes letting go is the hardest thing to do.
Letting go is SO HARD. I think it’s something that will be a constant process in my life.
Reading this I feel like maybe I was born in the right generation after all. This suits my natural personality type well.. Although, I’m not sure if I was so comfortable with the “unknown” a few years ago. Now, I seem to thrive in it.
I like the unknown sometimes but sometimes it’s so intimidating! I need to take a lesson from you and thrive on it 🙂
I disagree with you a little. I think you do have to prepare for change. For instance, save an emergency fund in case your job falls through or you have to move somewhere new. I think even having the mindset of “accepting chance” is preparing for it! Like you said, there are often many opportunities for change in todays’ world but if you don’t prepare yourself mentally for the possibilities you might pass up new opportunities.
But I do agree that sometimes you just can plan or over think things and it’s just best to go along for the ride. Just trust that something will work out! (And I’m sure it will for you!)
You’re absolutely right — preparing practical things like an emergency fund are great ideas. I just need to remind myself to relax once all of that is taken care of!
On a certain level, you always have to be ready for change. You may not know what the change will be, but if your not ready for change to happen, you will try your hardest not to let it happen.
I think that’s a good point, Edward — being ready doesn’t have to mean overthinking or overpreparing or stressing. I think it’s smart to always be ready to accept change in your life — a lot of exciting opportunities could be missed otherwise!
I’ve always found it hilarious that people need to ‘prepare’ for change. It strikes me as getting ready to be punched in the face. At the end of the day, nothing can help it, you’re gonna get punched.
Just keep your fingers crossed for me that this change is less painful than getting punched in the face, ok?
I’m only a year or so behind you, and already I’ve had to tell myself not to worry about it! I don’t know what life will bring, have no idea where I’ll be going, and I can’t wait to get there! However, I do have to wait. In the meantime I’m going to keep learning as much as I can (in and out of school) and living life to the fullest.
It’s so hard to slow down, and college is no exception. I completely relate to the feeling of “I need to figure it out NOW!” but it’s important to focus on what we can learn in the process. Glad to hear you’re on the same page — good luck with school!
Great perspective Jenn! There is so many unknown factors in our lives, if we try to prepare for all of them we will inevitably go mad and fail. You have a much healthier outlook and I’m sure you’ll find your way. Best of luck!
I completely agree Lindsey — we shouldn’t stress out too badly about things outside our control. It will only lead to madness!