This post presents a perspective on how to continue growing in times of change. Nothing ever really sits still, and it is key that we learn to progress through change, no matter the obstacle, so that we can most comfortably reach our destination.

Up for Something New?

Going to college, changing apartments, switching jobs, adding a pet to the mix.

Each one of these major life events, while full of unique challenges, presents a major question: what does this change mean for our day-to-day life?

For some, this question isn’t much of a concern. A new situation presents exciting new opportunities that may outweigh the drawbacks of different time and schedule demands. For others, a change to a fixed routine presents a logistical nightmare.

Periods of transition, regardless of whether the transition is temporary or permanent, present major challenges to maintaining a daily routine. These challenges can make it difficult to progress through change and pose fitness barriers.

Life is unexpected. The planned changes we forecast never really seem to go as planned or on our schedules, and new opportunities and challenges always seem to arise. Learning to progress through change is key to maintaining growth, and it all starts with considering our unique visions for the future.

See the Vision of Your Desired Future

In order to most effectively progress through change toward our goals, we should first take time to consider what we want to do and who we want to be.¹ Once we do this, we will more easily see which actions are most important to take, allowing us to progress through change regardless of the obstacle or undesirability of the task at hand. (for further discussion on doing work you don’t want to do, check HERE).

When I say “the Vision”, I mean the idea you have for your future self that you aspire toward. This image is not necessarily a rigid idea, and can take time and several layers of paint to discover.

An Example:

Ever since you were a little kid, you knew you wanted to help people. As a child, you didn’t really know what this meant.

Growing up, you continued to feel this desire to help people, and a school speech from a local doctor sparked an interest in medicine.

Continuing through school, you kept thinking about who you wanted to be, and decided becoming a doctor was your dream. You fixed this vision in your mind, believing that it would be your way to help people and live a fulfilling life.

You continued through school, eventually taking anatomy, biology, and chemistry, which helped further confirm your vision of you being a doctor. In fact, you feel more passionate than ever and see yourself as an orthopedic surgeon.

High school ends, and you go on to college. You study sciences and enjoy the work. However, you open your eyes wider and see a family in your vision. You want kids and a partner. You also aren’t so sure about surgery. Wait, does this dream still make sense?

Our Visions Come Early and Change Often

We are taught to envision our futures from a young age. I remember going through my second grade yearbook and seeing how we all listed our names, favorite foods, and dream jobs (can you be a full-time lawyer and snowplow driver? I have to report back to second grade me).

These visions will be affirmed, stretched, changed, and smashed countless times while we search for our futures.

It is important that we work hard to continuously fight for our dreams (and build systems that help handle the day-to-day), because, otherwise, we will have no choice but to sacrifice. When we start with an understanding of where we envision ourselves, we make it easier to progress through change with a focus on our end goals.

¹Considering our future is also a key step in learning to manage our time, discussed further here.

Sacrificing Dreams or Getting the Bigger Picture?

We are the key factors that determine whether our vision comes to life. This vision, which combines our dreams for ourselves to create an entire image or scene, can be lost if we do not push hard enough to progress through change and new challenges. At the same time, we must acknowledge that some dreams are incompatible with others. I cannot be employed simultaneously as a full-time snowplow driver and lawyer, despite my youthful desire, because I won’t have enough time for everything else I want to do.

To refine a vision so that we can actionably work toward it, we must weigh our dreams and think critically about what would make us happy (note: this weighing process is also essential to our day-to-day life; click HERE for more). Additionally, we must consider how our dreams change with new information so that we can progress through change with a more refined focus.

This process asks us to keep the question of where we see ourselves ever-present in our minds.

Prioritize Your Vision, But Allow it to Focus

When we engage with the regular questioning of where we see our future selves, it is important that we recognize the fluid nature of our visions. Our visions are determined by our perceptions and experiences, and progress might come in the form of shifting focus. Each day, we have new experiences that might help build, shift, or even destroy dreams. As these events add brushstrokes to our projected future self, we must constantly reflect to see which pieces fit.

Don’t get me wrong, some dreams will need to be sacrificed (ex. my dream of being a professional road runner will have to go if I lose my legs. The dream may be modified for a handicap analog, but I doubt this is the dream I had when both legs were working). However, we should not be hard on ourselves for letting part of a dream go if pursuing it would hinder us on our path to our true passions.

Consider the New Demands of Expected Change

Now that we’ve identified our base visions for the future, it’s important to consider any changes we expect in the future so we can start planning our paths accordingly. An example:

Let’s say we have built an effective home system that does a good job keeping all of our daily maintenance and chores in good order. Additionally, we’ve gotten into a good workout routine (if you’re struggling with this, check HERE for tips building exercise into any schedule).

However, we are planning to start a new job that will come with increased time and labor demands.

How do we keep ourselves progressing despite the shake-up to our daily life?

What will we do to keep motivated despite getting knocked from our system?

For starters, we have to look toward our visions for ourself as a guide.

Consider Expected Changes Against Overall Vision

Our visions will tell us whether the new demands make sense and how we can account for them.

Does the new job fit with our vision for our future self? If not, why are we taking it? We may need a temporary job for money so that we can better pursue our dreams. In this case, the job may actually fit your vision and serve as a stepping stone on the path to success.

If it does fit with our future vision, great; let’s make the demands work.

Consider Vision Details and Prioritize Accordingly

In our vision, what else do we see beyond a job? Do we see an active life? Do we want a family? Each of these layers will show us how to build our systems and manage time.

We are responsible for actively maintaining a vision for ourselves, pruning unnecessary activities and building structure when needed so that we can keep heading in the right direction. As mentioned, however, the visions we create for ourselves can only be as clear as our current perceptions and experiences.

When we take time to consider what we truly value and how we want to live our lives, we can more effectively address expected issues and progress through change. However, many transition periods come with demands for which we could not reasonably have prepared.

These unexpected consequences may not be easily addressed beforehand, but we can overcome them and progress through change if we take time to consider their demands and pick the best paths toward our goals.

Unanticipated Consequences

We cannot plan for everything. I find that a life devoted to scheduling every moment both inefficiently allocates my time and is prone to wasted effort as demands change (I’ve blocked off many a day for trial only to find the matter settle at the last minute, leaving me with a week of nothing on the schedule). When unanticipated consequences arise during times of change, it is important that we take a pause and think about how they fit into our vision.

Sometimes, unexpected consequences are temporary. For example, we may switch to a new job and realize their software suite is different from what we’re used to, leading to longer hours in the beginning. In these circumstances, there isn’t much to do besides accept the delays, learn the tech, and continue with business as usual. However, you’re probably not here to hear about the small stuff.

Determine Whether Changes are Tolerable

When a transition comes with major unexpected changes, we must first determine whether they are tolerable and then consider how they impact our future vision. If the consequences are due to a faulty step and not an unrealistic vision, we can strategize about a next step and use the information learned to ensure it is more effective.

For example, lets say we start a new job and find that they vastly misrepresented the hour requirements. If the hours are tolerable, we can adjust our vision to make work a greater focus. If the hours are not tolerable and unique to the particular workplace, we should take our time and consider looking for a different employer. If we choose to look elsewhere, we will know to more carefully screen positions for their hour expectations.

Pursue Your Visions, But Learn to Recognize a Bad Fit

There are times where we start a job only to discover that the field itself is different from what we imagined. Maybe the pressure of our dream industry was not clear until starting work and we find that it would be incompatible with our family goals. Under these circumstances, do not fret! Many have been in this position. The experience is a valuable lesson and our ability to recognize an improper fit has saved us future headaches.

When an experience shifts your vision for your future, it is important to spend time asking why.

Why does this experience make you want to pursue something else?

Is the job unfulfilling?

Does your chosen major bore you?

Do you find that you’d prefer to go back to the west coast and be with family?

Whatever your reason, it is important that you think carefully and trust yourself. After all, you’re your best advocate (unless you’re getting sued, in which case, it’s generally wise to hire an attorney).

We must always act with a focus on gathering information so that we can effectively do what we want to do. Sometimes, our experiences show us things that make us refine our focus and shift priorities. Other times, experiences can change our vision altogether.

Managing the Transition Period Itself

Sometimes it’s not a new experience itself that gives us trouble, but the unstructured time between two phases of life.

Breaks between semesters, notice periods between jobs, and closing dates for a new home can quickly make any semblance of a system disappear. Often, these changing times put us in new environments, shift our priorities, and fill up free time with tons of one-off tasks (ex. making sure your insurance doesn’t lapse while transitioning jobs or applying for internships while your classes are off).

Progress through change can still be made here.

I find that the best way for me to progress and keep up momentum is by identifying my top priorities and building them into my days. As I have mentioned (and will continue to mention), I do not like having my days scheduled. However, going from having a general flow or routine to something completely new can jumble my mind and distract me from my desired outcomes.

An Example:

You’re playing a game with your friend. Really, you’re bored and want to see who is better at catching. Your friend has a bucket of ping-pong balls and is tossing them your way.

When tossed one at a time at a regular cadence, you catch most every ball. You feel like a boss.

All of a sudden, your friend gets crafty and starts tossing handfuls at a time.

Panicked, you look at all the balls when they go by and catch none.

After you take a deep breath, you try again, this time focusing on only one or two of the thrown ping-pong balls. You start catching some again.

In this circumstance, you are going from a consistent practice (one ping-pong ball at a time) to a change-up. This change-up upends your system and gives you tons of different things you could do.

When I spend my time thinking about all the things I could possibly do with my time, I most often do nothing.

Focusing On the Major Goals

I find that, similar to focusing on one or two of the ping-pong balls at a time, a deliberate effort to focus on the tasks important to my vision can help me make sure I progress through change.

For example, when I would go home on college breaks, I would focus on keeping up some sort of workout routine so I wouldn’t lose my progress or get out of the rhythm. Maybe my laundry schedule slowed down and/or I didn’t eat quite as well on these breaks (they were usually holiday periods, so I’d let it slide), but I could keep my body active and feel a sense of purpose.

Once you catch the one or two ping-pong balls you focused on, there’s no harm in trying to get fancy and catch more (so long as your efforts don’t make you drop the first ones). If I made it home on break and could keep my workout schedule going, I would often try to mix some other priorities in the mix to see if I could.

After all, what’s the point of life if we aren’t trying to see what we can do?

Temporary Transitions

Some transition periods only result in temporary challenges to our systems. For example, trips home for the holidays when we‘re in the middle of college knock us off of our routine, but only until we return to school (yes, we can argue all transitions are temporary. I don’t know if the semantics will help you here).

The key here is to do enough to keep momentum toward our goals while also building in flexibility so we can enjoy ourselves in breaks and spend time with family while we have it.

I find it helpful to take ownership of my day so that I can build out opportunities to pursue my vision. For example, when I come home for a holiday break, I try to control when I wake up so that I can run on my daytime schedule. Similarly, I try to keep my workout routine as consistent as possible so I can avoid falling out of routine.

We all have to make compromises. Temporary transitions may result in family mealtimes and group outings outside of our day-to-day systems, but that’s part of life. If we skip all variety and family events in pursuit of a self-proclaimed vision, we may find ourselves looking back and missing moments we can no longer possibly retrieve.

In the end, our health, fitness, and personal life goals should be designed to help us continuously live the lives we want. It’s ok to loosen up in transition times and when celebrating with family, but if you feel that you want to escape your routine at any available opportunity, it might be wise to take time ask yourself where you’d rather be.

Conclusion

In the end, our visions for ourselves tell us what we need to do. Identifying what makes us happy helps build a game plan, and experience will refine the vision until it fits what we want.

If we want to progress through change, we have to take time to see what we like and what makes us feel fulfilled. From there, we can build actions toward these values and see how they fit as we progress. New information will always be available, and we can develop preferences and different interests as we grow.

Keep asking questions and challenging yourself, and your vision will make more sense by the minute.

Any thoughts? Questions? Let me know!

-G

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