The only constant in our lives is that it is constantly changing. Or, as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus put it, “Life is flux. [And] since the very nature of life is change, to resist this natural flow is to resist the very essence of our existence”.
Fast forward to the present, and life coach Elizabeth Perry sees life similarly, saying that the one thing that we can count on in life is change. And as such, many of us can relate to child development expert L R Kost’s graphic and somewhat scary description of life as a roller coaster, where “Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life.”
So, whether the changes might come from our own decisions or be beyond our control, it’s understandable that they can be intimidating. But life coaches such as Perry and others believe that instead of fearing change, what we should be doing is “embracing it and viewing it as a positive force in your life”. And they have suggestions for how to work towards doing this, which are useful to consider. Fourteen strategies were, for example, suggested by a group of life coaches who were consulted on how someone can work towards embracing change (reported in “14 ways to embrace and accept change in your life”) that they consider worth trying. These can be seen here. And, in summary, they are to: prepare for it; determine the value; keep your skills current; think about the possibilities; always run towards only what you want; allow change to reveal your strength; redefine change to be your ‘Nirvana’; don’t view relapses as failure; be consistent in your actions and motivation; don’t just embrace change – drive it; get an accountability partner; create an achievable roadmap to change; reduce the ambiguity; make change an adventure.
While all and any of these may well be useful in our constantly changing lives, what resonated most with me – as an 82-year-old – is what psychology professor Shigehiro Oishi has identified as psychological richness as a route to fulfillment which – when you see how he describes it in “The big idea: What’s the real key to a fulfilling life”– is very much a way of embracing our ever-changing lives (in https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jan/27/the-big-idea-whats-the-real-key-to-a-fulfilling-life). As this brief summary shows, it does have some links with Kost’s view: “A psychologically rich life is one filled with diverse, unusual and interesting experiences that change your perspective, a life with twists and turns;….a life that feels like a long, winding hike…. Such experiences can kickstart the psychological immune system, making us more resilient…..[and] less prone to regret: it matters less if the thing you did went wrong. You did it regardless, and chalked up another experience.” And he considers that Eleanor Roosevelt said it best: “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear”.
Anne Ring ©2025
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