Change. It’s a daunting word and one that most people tend to forget to incorporate into their personal dictionary. And why would we? We spend such a significant part of our young adulthood trying to form a protective blanket against unforeseen changes that ripping that blanket off seems absurd. Preposterous even.
Yet most of us crave change as well because let’s face it no one likes the repetitiveness that comes with a 9-5 schedule.
But of course you already knew this because why else would people agree to jump off planes at 15ft after signing their life away like that?
However to a majority of us change comes with uneasiness and the more we snuggle up with that blanket the harder it is to let go. So how do we go about making those bigger crucial changes when we struggle to change our usual coffee order
- Switch the damn coffee order
If you’re an avid coffee addict like me then chances are you’ve most likely got a favorite. Mine is a weak/half-shot mocha. Why weak/half-shot you ask? Because if not I end up getting jacked up on caffeine and start bouncing off the walls like Theodore in Alvin and the Chipmunks.
However the other day I was extremely tired on a Thursday morning (as I was up late the night before trying to rebrand my website) and decided to switch my order in the spur of the moment. I went from a weak/half-shot mocha to a flat white. Yaknow cause its what the grownups are drinking nowadays.
Did I like it? Not necessarily. Did I regret it? Not for long because I developed a unique palette for it. But it made me very uncomfortable because I was stepping away from something I had grown used to
2. Act within the first 5 secs
If you’ve never heard of TedX chances are you need to get out from beneath that pineapple under the ocean. Yes that was a SpongeBob reference. But I’m a constant inspiration seeker so I love listening to TedX talks and one of my all-time favorite is a talk called ‘How to stop screwing yourself over’ by Mel Robbins. In the talk she states that motivation is garbage and that we need to take action within the first 5 seconds otherwise our brain will talk us out of it. That intuition that you may have to take that photography class when you see it in an advert is your instinct talking. However if we don’t act on that intuition within the first 5 seconds your brain will revert back to its old habits and pull you back into your comfort zone.
All it takes is that one change to your daily habitual rituals and we only have 5 seconds to act on those decisions.
PS: Do yourself a solid and watch the TedX talk here
3. Plan for the bigger changes so you feel prepared
Notice I said FEEL not WILL because you never will be mentally prepared for the bigger changes. No matter how many ducks you manage to get in a row it will never be enough to help you when it comes to taking that leap. You’ll still be shit scared when you book your one way flight to your dream destination. You will still get sweaty palms when you find out that your temporary apartment is nothing like you’ve pictured it and you will still get anxious when you decide to leave the comfort of your friends and family for the unknown.
The best you can do is prepare. DO YOUR RESEARCH. We live in a time where the world is made accessible at our fingertips. If not from your laptop, then from your phone, if not from your phone then the computer at your local library.
If you know that in a year’s time you want to move to a different country and start over, do your research a year before.
- How much is the approximate rent around where you want to live?
- What job opportunities can you look into as you main source of income?
- Is the public transport near your new location any good? Or will you have to figure out an alternate form of transport?
- Is there anyone within your immediate network who’s done the same thing? How can you reach out to them
Sit down for a few hours every other week or so and put together a detailed Excel sheet. Talk to people. Reach out to people via social media. You’d be surprised how many people actually respond to kind messages.
4. Accept and grow with the outcomes
Every decision has consequences. And changes start with a decision to make a change in the first place. I’ll give you a minute to read that last sentence again cause that confused me as I was typing it. But fact of the matter is that every change will come with consequences and you need to be ready to accept those as part of the outcomes. You might lose a few friends and gain some extra haters.
You might need to sacrifice a few night outs to stay in and work on your brand. While your IG might not be as lit as it was before you’ll be inspired like never before. You’ll be motivated like never before, because you decided to pursue the path least treaded.
To sum it up. Make a list of changes you wanna make, then create a bomb ass playlist to go with it and get to work!
Strategic Chaos 