We often change so slowly we don’t recognize what’s happening. I wear my favorite jeans often. Then, one day I realize they are now holey and not wearable. Just yesterday, they were fine. Today? Not fine.
It’s the same things when things change for us physically, intellectually, or emotionally. Sometimes our changes are great. I vividly remember mastering intermediate swimming back when I was nine years old. I remember the first time I a computer program I wrote worked. I remember the first time I mastered my impatience in a work situation. These were all terrific changes.
Sometimes, our changes aren’t so hot. I also remember my losses when I had my first vertigo attack. That attack hit me physically with loss of balance, (temporary) loss of concentration, and the inevitable ups and downs dealing with surprising and immediate physical losses.
We need to acknowledge our losses from change just as much as we celebrate our successes due to change.
How do you see your changes?
- I gather quantitative data, as in Tip 2: See Your Reality.
- I look for qualitative feedback, from myself and others. (When I started to fall because I was unstable from my vertigo, that was feedback! Not the kind of feedback I normally like to receive.)
Some changes are easy to see. Seeing holes in my jeans one day? Easy to see. Disappointing, but easy.
Seeing my capabilities grow incrementally day by day? Not easy to see. I practice many things, such as my writing. I find those small changes difficult to track. “All of a sudden,” I have mastered something new. Well, it’s not one-day mastery. It’s a product of all of those small changes.
I also have trouble seeing small losses every day, whether those are weight losses (good!) or balance losses (bad).
Discovering the data, both qualitative and quantitative is key for me to acknowledge the change.
Here’s why it’s so important to acknowledge our changes. We can manage many situations, as long as we see them for what they are. Without seeing our reality, we can’t acknowledge our gains and losses.
And, once we acknowledge our changes, we can choose what to do about them.