Acknowledge your feelings. If you feel resistant to change or uncomfortable with impending change, then it is important to acknowledge your feelings. Don’t avoid your emotions, listen to them. Emotions are part of self-awareness. When you acknowledge an emotion, you accept it as if to say, “this isn’t so bad” and allow yourself to understand it and manage it. Often, change brings up feelings of anxiety such as worry and fear. It’s okay to feel worried and feel fear. Grieve and take care of your feelings. Even if the big change in your life is a happy one like getting married or moving to a place you always wanted to live, accept that there will be some emotional losses and work through them. Try to identify the feelings you are having and why by writing or saying them out loud. For example, you might write or say something like, “I am feeling anxious and overwhelmed because I have to move to a new city next week.”

Prepare yourself. No matter what sort of change you are facing, you can take steps to prepare yourself for the new situation. Think about what your new situation will be and then identify some ways that you can learn more about what you will be facing. For example, if you plan to move to another city, state, or country, learn as much as you can about the new place before going. If you are starting a new job, find out as much as you can about what you will be doing. Try to create a plan for how you will approach the new situation. For example, if you are moving to a new city, you might ask: what restaurants do you want to check out? How will you get around the city? What other places would you like to explore? You can also make a plan to change your situation if it is not where you want to be in life. For example, you might not like your new job, so you could create a plan to find a new one that you will enjoy by searching the job listings, applying for jobs that interest you, and attending job fairs.