Embracing Change

Four months ago, we faced the challenge of an international move. I wasn't unhappy where we lived before. I loved our house, I loved the views and all things were in place so that our life moved along smoothly. We had favourite restaurants, classes we attended and local businesses we were loyal to because we liked the way they cut our hair or sold the products we like to buy.

So to give up a happy life was not particularly an easy thing to do. However, we are adventurous souls and the idea of exploring somewhere new was too tempting for us and so we chose to take on the challenge.

After arriving, we took on a property that was the best of a bad bunch available at the time. Then 2 days after moving in, the landladies (2 sisters) decided to increase the rent by an additional 25%! We had a contract but with being in an unfamiliar country and also finding out that the landladies lived one on top of the other in a building opposite the property, we felt we had no choice but to give in to their demands.

The property itself was in a concrete jungle. It had no views. The garden was an internal courtyard and not a bush could be seen in the street outside. My poor cats were devastated. Where would they roam?

Now, you're probably wondering how this negative background information could possibly empower you to embrace change. But I tell you all this so that you can have an understanding on where my mindset was heading. Our exciting adventure had turned into living in a concrete city with no good places to walk our dogs, nowhere for our cats to explore, no views and no idea about where to eat, where to buy things or who to trust.

I cried.

I needed to try to keep myself together, I had a young child who was looking up to me and who was also experiencing a whole world of change. But when she would head to bed at night and my husband returned from work, he would ask me how my day was and I would cry.

Now, I'm a fighter. I do not welcome bad luck. Bad things do not happen to me, they are merely challenges that need solutions. So, I kept myself and my little girl busy by signing us up for every type of class I could find and then gave myself a break by signing myself up for a weekly yoga class. We started to meet people and friendships began. And in the meantime, I searched and searched and searched every property I could find that might possibly make my family, myself and my furries all happy. And eventually we got there!

We have now moved into an amazing family home. I have my views back. My Pets are happy again. And we are learning our way around. Giving up wasn't an option. And accepting unhappiness wasn't an option either.

Change is daunting. But so too is the thought of a life that is exactly the same every-day, every-year. 

Our lives should always be moving forwards,

and never backwards.

If there was one thing in your life that you could change, what would it be? And what is it that you would need to do to implement that change? What solution can you come up with to fix this one particular challenge? 

I invite you to move your life forwards and embrace change.