Episode 14 - Accepting Change - a podcast by Raina Jain

“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.” - John Allen Paulos

In the times of isolation and quarantines, many of us are going ridiculously insane, simply finding it difficult to accept the radical change taking place in all our lives. From a business person, to an economist. Life has been upended. Changes have taken place from trivial subjects wherein a ‘Hello’ has transformed into ‘Namastey’ or ‘tapping elbows to greet each other’ to substantial matters like decline in the stock market. And along the way, anxiety has increased to another level, where people are feeling insecure and overwhelmed; This virus has reminded us all – that the world is not as controllable as it appears to be. There are some risks that cannot be minimized by any kind of influence.

Well, we are all going through a tough time however there’s one thing that I am learning everyday is that – There is always something assenting and positive to experience in every situation that occurs abruptly.

You might yet be wondering whether what am I saying! When the entire world is falling apart, how are we expected to look at the positive possibility of it all?

I choose to look at this period as a phase of transformation.

Transformation at a global level.

Change is about to occur; it is making us all uncomfortable, desperate, and despairing. Its said that its going to get worse before it gets better. And it will get better!

Even before change occurs we get so apprehensive that it does not allow us to live the present moment mindfully. We tend to resist change although we are aware of the possible consequences. Why? Because we follow the status-quo, meaning we follow the same path we always have that gratifies us for a tremendous period of time. There is a whole lot of emotions running wild within us. And predominantly, when change transpires our brain requires to put in a lot of effort to think, so we instead react out of instinct or habit.

Two reasons why we primarily find change challenging is because-

1) We are petrified for we are moving towards an uncertain future we are not equipped for.

2) We feel miserable as we are leaving something behind and we believe that we will never find something like this ever again.

Now that we have understood why change is difficult let us first learn to accept that how much ever we may want to keep things constant, ‘Change is the only thing that Is constant’

If you ever think you’ve created a controllable, predictable life for yourself, you can be rest assured that’s an illusion. Nothing stays the same forever.

The uncertainty can keep you up at night, obsessing over ways to protect yourself from anything that might go wrong. Or it can motivate you to practice acceptance, live in the moment, and embrace the adventure of living.

What’s coming tomorrow might not be easy—or it might fulfil you in ways you didn’t know to imagine. What’s certain is that it will come and when it gets here, you’ll respond to it, learn from it, and move into another tomorrow full of endless possibilities.

Today I’m focusing on my possibilities, not my fear, and suddenly I feel a lot better.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thehappinessproject/message

Further episodes of The Happiness Project

Further podcasts by Raina Jain

Website of Raina Jain