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The experience of change itself is a big part of what feels distressing for so many people. This means that even changes associated with desirable outcomes can be unnerving when they occur.
Change is an unavoidable part of life, whether it involves a major disruption or a steady onslaught of minor ones. Acceptance and adaptation are the answer.
Acceptance is not simply throwing up your hands in the face of change. What it means is knowing which aspects of a change experience are within your control and which are beyond your control.
When confronted with a disruptive change, the first step is to recognise what is under your control and what is not. We do not have complete control over most of the change experiences we encounter, whether they are major or minor in scope.
A problem-focused approach to change is about discovering practical adaptations that improve your ability to cope. It involves taking specific steps that are within your sphere of control.
So, it can help to practice efficient and effective decision-making by exercising your critical thinking skills. This begins with realising the negative effects of not deciding. Delaying a decision is a decision in its own right – one that can lead to missed opportunities, prolong distress, and feed into doubts you might have about your ability to choose wisely.
Be clear and specific about what you need to decide. Gather information relevant to the issue at hand, giving higher priority to information that is evidence-based and being more cautious with information that may be more speculative in nature. Generate options and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each, based on the evidence you’ve gathered. Choose a course of action, and sketch out a step-by-step plan that you’ll follow to carry out what you’ve decided. Set a time when you’ll review your decision and make any necessary adjustments to the plan.