Arise: Empowered to Embrace Your Next

As I write to you, I am in a season of transition and change in my life. While I will admit that it has not been comfortable, it has been necessary as I embrace the next chapter in my life. Change is part of life, but it is something that we, as human beings, are very resistant to. In reality, life is filled with challenges and uncertainties, and it is how we navigate those moments that determine our truth growth, development, and evolution. With every move that we make, we are always deciding who we will become. I hope these insights will inspire you to embrace change and become the best version of yourself.

1. You must realize that no season is forever. Of course, I have just celebrated a birthday, and it was a very special birthday for me. However, this year was very important because I made some new commitments to myself. I have a good life, and I am grateful for where I am in my journey. At the same time, I understand that in order to embrace what is next, I must first be willing to let go of what is now. What does that mean? It means that you have to appreciate seasons and not cling to a season that has expired in your life. When life is good, we tend to want to hold on to those seasons forever. From lived experience, I cannot be content with good when I have experienced what a great life looks like. Therefore, I have to constantly challenge myself to enjoy seasons and also perceive when a season is expiring in my life. No matter how hard you try, you cannot make a season last forever. Value seasons because seasons have to change, and your life will not stay the same. Maturity is perceiving the value of a season and extracting wisdom from the season.

2. Do not become resistant to change. Honestly, I am not a big fan of change. I would like for things to be able to stay the same in my life. However, I have lived long enough to know that change is one of the things we should constantly expect in life. I am constantly challenged to change. It is impossible to be a pioneer or an effective leader and be resistant to change. In fact, the failure to change will cause you to become irrelevant. With that said, you cannot afford to be resistant to change. This is someone who continues to live adjusted to an old paradigm, does not prioritize growth, and disregards development. Your resistance to change will result in you repeating cycles, stunting your growth, and squandering your potential. To live resistant to change is to live a life with no depth, no development, and no advancement. A person becomes resistant to change through narrow mindedness, isolation, and disconnecting from community. A resistance to change produces a life of regret.

3. Learn to see change as an opportunity. One of the most important lessons I have had to learn is that you cannot break the resistance to change without first reframing your context of change. I am sure you may be wondering what I mean by reframing your context of change. Instead of seeing change as a burden or something to be afraid of, learn to see change as an opportunity to grow, evolve, and become the next best version of yourself. Understand that you will not like the process of change. On the other hand, you will enjoy the product of change in your life. It was when I learned to see change as an opportunity that I quantum leaped into new realms of possibilities. I understood that change was not designed to hurt me. Change was designed to take me higher. Most of all, change was designed to build my capacity and unlock my greatest potential. Your perspective on change will determine whether you embrace it or evade it. The benefits of change are what unleash breakthroughs in our lives.

4. Dare to embrace your next. On the other side of change are possibilities and opportunities. More importantly, on the other side of change is the next level in your life. Many people talk about the next level in life. Unfortunately, most people never reach the next level. Oftentimes, doubt, fear, insecurity, limiting beliefs, perceptions, and other factors stand in the way. I have discovered that it is impossible to embrace the next level without change. Why is that? In your current state, you do not have the capacity to show up as the next best version of yourself. Therefore, you will have to evolve in order to emerge. You will always have to go through a metamorphosis to meet change in your life. Are you willing to go through a transformation to embrace what is next for your life? How bad do you want to go from being stuck to upgrading your life? Your next is going to cost you all the comfort and convenience of your now.