People, places, and faces.
There are so many things in our lives that bring us comfort and solace. It’s only natural that the thought of losing these comforts brings up fear.
In this post, I’ll share 4 powerful practices to overcome the fear of change and boldly live in the present moment.
Table of Contents
Where the Fear of Change Comes From
Every single one of us craves stability.
Stability is safety.
It allows your nervous system to rest, relax, and reset. If everything in your life was constantly changing, you’d probably be a nervous wreck.
If you have a fear of change, know that it is very, very normal.
The fear of change is really a fear of the unknown — a reflection of our uncertainty about whether we’ll be safe, secure, and cared for after the change.
These are the questions that unconsciously come up and keep us holding on to potentially outdated circumstances.
When boiled down, the fear of change is simply your ego trying to keep you safe. With this understanding, you can approach it with compassion and manage it lovingly — in a way that supports you and helps you feel seen, heard, and understood.
How the Fear of Change Affects you
The fear of change makes you overly attached to your current circumstances and resistant to growth. You may miss opportunities, connections, and experiences because of it.
This attachment can bring up feelings of nostalgia, self-doubt, and being stuck in life. Rather than living fully in the present moment, you may find yourself simply watching life pass you by — stuck in the false sense of security your current circumstances provide, afraid to step beyond your comfort zone and see all that life has to offer.
4 Bold Practices to Overcome your Fear of Change
Overcoming the fear of change can feel like scaling a mountain, but it doesn’t have to.
With these simple, bold, and loving practices in your toolkit, you’ll sail through the fear, dispel doubts and come back to the present moment over and over again.
Practice 1) Acceptance
This is probably the most powerful practice I can share with you because it opens the door for life to unfold, opportunities to arise, and adventure to find you.
This practice is about accepting the nature of the world as ever-changing. Everything you can see, touch, or interact with is in a constant state of change.
Your own body has changed so much over the years; your cells, moods, breath, desires and goals change every single day.
Everything around you is changing too.
When you accept this as the reality of life, it becomes easier to overcome the fear of change because the basis of this fear is the false notion that everything is static.
When you understand and accept that everything is always changing, the fear of change loosens its grip on you.
Practice 2) Journaling
Journaling is a powerful practice for processing emotions, releasing stress, and diving deep into the roots of self-limiting beliefs associated with your fear of change.
Whenever you feel strong emotions or a strong aversion to impending changes in your life, you can pull out your journal and start to write; write about what’s happening, where the fear is coming from, and what’s on the other side of this change.
Often, fear is not based in reality.
Once that energy is translated from your mind, through your arm and into your journal, you’ll find that it starts to feel a lot more manageable.
You’ll be able to identify what is a rational fear, what can be discarded, and where you can start to manage some of the uncertainty associated with the changes coming into your life.
When done regularly, journaling can help you stay grounded, balanced, and connected to your authentic self.
Practice 3) Meditation
The fear of change, similar to social anxiety and negative thoughts, comes from restlessness in the mind.
It’s the mind’s tendency to regret the past, be anxious about the future, and flip back and forth between the two that not only tires you, and prevents you from getting deep rest, but also brings up a slew of negative emotions.
Meditation is a powerful practice designed to help you stop overthinking and come back to the present moment.
Meditation is not a band-aid solution. Similar to the practice of yoga, it is designed to help you get to the roots of your disturbances and eliminate them so that they don’t bother you again in the future.
Many practices only address the symptoms, whereas yoga and meditation holistically address the deeper causes of physical and mental afflictions such as the fear of change.
Practice 4) Compassion
The fourth and final practice is one of my favorites; this one is compassion, and compassion is what will take you through your darkest nights.
On your journey to overcome the fear of change, it’s crucial not to be hard on yourself.
It’s okay to be attached to people, belongings, and situations. It’s okay to be upset about things changing and uncertain about the future. And it’s okay to give yourself space to grieve the loss of someone or something important to you.
However, when you’re ready to become unstuck, move forward in life, and find fulfillment, you’ll have to step out of your comfort zone, and the fear of change is inevitably going to come up.
Instead of being hard on yourself for being afraid, have compassion for yourself and move through the fear anyways.
It’s okay to be afraid; it’s not okay to let fear prevent you from living your life.
Take Back Control of your Life
Get personalized guidance on your specific life situations, learn powerful frameworks to break free from societal expectations, and lean on community to guide you through the fear of change inside Parm’s Spiritual Academy
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