In life we get into routines. We become comfortable with our daily lives and after awhile we even become resistant and afraid to change things up. It can be small changes like driving new routes to get places that make us uncomfortable or it can be big changes in our daily routine like a long vacation that can make us uncomfortable.

For me, I've become so set in my ways that any major change to my daily routine is unsettling. I start stressing weeks in advance about changes that are going to happen that I don't have total control over. Whether it's an upcoming vacation that will be changing up my normal workout routine and foods that I eat on a daily basis or my friends that I've been leaning on this past year in college going home for the summer, I have found myself stressing, losing sleep, and creating an unnecessary emotional burden on myself over change that I should be embracing. Change can be unsettling and scary. We often resist change because we are uncertain if the results of change will be positive or negative in our lives.

Someone wise in my life gave me some great advice recently. They told me that if I live my life afraid and resisting the changes that are happening whether I want them to or not, I will never be truly happy. They told me that I should embrace the change and take things as they come. They told me that I can handle whatever changes are happening and even if the changes scare me to just have faith that everything will work out the way it's supposed to. This advice has never been more helpful or relevant to what I've been feeling recently.

Instead of resisting the change, I should appreciate it. I don't have to be excited for changes, but I should be appreciative of it. We should appreciate change because it symbolizes that we are growing as an individual or as a whole. Some people don't get the opportunities for change, so if we are fortunate enough to have opportunities to change and grow, whether it's positive change or a hardship that brings change, we should be appreciative.

While it's not always the easiest to appreciate and be accepting of the changes that are happening in our lives, but we should put our best effort forward to do so. I know for myself, journaling a couple times a week helps put things into perspective and it's teaching me to be more appreciate of the changes that are happening in my life.

While everyone experiences their own changes, positive and negative, it's all about how we react to the change. We can resist or fear change and in return burden ourselves by trying to fight something we most likely can't or we can embrace and appreciate that changes that we face in our lives and enjoy the journey through life. It's all up to you, but for now I'm going to focus on appreciating the changes in my life and the opporunities that are coming my way.