The only constant thing in the world is change.

Changes and transitions can be extremely hard, but we can’t escape them, they are a part of life. Actually, the most natural part of life if we think about it. Everything changes. All the time. Days, seasons, years, the body, and so on. So even though a change might be involuntary and not our own choice, we have to remind ourselves that it is still a natural thing we can’t do anything about.

I have experienced many difficult changes in my life, especially during the past five years. I have had to leave relationships, countries, cities, family structures, people, and lifestyles, even though I didn’t want to. I even fought so hard for the change not to come, but later realized that there was nothing I could do about it, I had no power, and the more I worked against it, the harder it felt.

I recently experienced a change like this and got an idea about how I could make it feel better. I also realized it could be applied to any type of change, even the transition from summer to fall, which we are soon entering. The idea, or exercise, is simply to list 10 things that you appreciated with what was, and then list 10 positive things that will come with the new situation. Though, coming up with the things you appreciated about the previous (or current, if the change hasn’t fully happened yet), will probably not be that hard, but can be difficult and emotional to think of. However, I think it is important to do it anyway since it makes us feel thankful and happy about what we have experienced. It will bring a sense of purpose to everything and you will see how much it has given you. Then, in order to move on and easier embrace what is about to come, listing 10 positive thing with the new situation is essential. Even though it might feel extremely difficult at first, I promise you there are good things that it will bring you.