Our modern lives are filled with contemporary problems. The average person faces situations that didn’t exist just a few decades ago. Here are some things to remember if you need help adapting to modern change.
Remind Yourself that Uncontrollable Change Is Inevitable
Much of the change you have experienced was unpredictable and beyond your control. Sometimes, significant change is evident on the horizon and headed your way, but you can’t stop or influence it.
Change will take its course, and all you can do is weather the storm to the best of your abilities.
Such is the nature of modern life.
Take technology, for example. Futurist, inventor, and author Ray Kurzweil has this to say about the speed of technological advancements:
“If a technology is an information technology, the basic measures of price/performance and capacity follow amazingly precise exponential trajectories.”
In other words, growth is exponential, not flatline, and predictable. These technological laws agree:
- “Processing power doubles about every two years while prices are halved.” — Moore’s Law
- “Network bandwidth doubles every six months.” — Gilder’s Law
- “The cost of storage is falling by half every 12 months while capacity doubles.” — Less’s Law
We see rapid change in other areas of our modern society, not just technology. This change might be outside your control, but you may suffer regardless.
Changes in the job market, such as the rise of artificial intelligence, threaten to alter the face of the modern workplace and can affect your earning potential.
To cope with these inevitable changes, practice mindfulness. Start meditating, exercise regularly, and get at least seven hours of restful sleep every night.
These powerful stress-relieving practices can help you accept that much of the change you face is out of your hands.
View Change Objectively, then Make a Choice
When change negatively impacts you, it might seem like the world is out to get you. It’s not personal. The world is not doing what it does just to get a rise out of you.
Remember this: change is just an event. Look at it objectively as something that happened and nothing more. You can decide to view it as an opportunity or a setback.
Successful people see change as having the potential to produce a great outcome.
Choose to see change as good, even if it is a difficult challenge. By embracing a positive outlook, you’re more likely to generate a positive outcome.
