Does change make you shake? Does it make you quiver inside until you feel like you’re going to burst?

Change can be like a tsunami. It can wreak havoc on your entire world. But like any natural disaster, it also creates a lot of movement that can leave the soil even richer.

If you’re experiencing a personal tsunami right now, consider it more like the movement necessary to get you to where you need to be. Change will create new pockets of opportunity for you. If you view it that way, you will see how good change can be.

Change is also like a loss (and sometimes we experience an actual loss, which indeed is the most painful kind of change). You are losing a way of being that felt so comfortable. Even if it wasn’t right for you, it was familiar. And familiarity gives us security despite the very real disadvantage of living that way.

If you know you need to change something, but you feel overwhelmed by the prospects of it, start small. Do just one thing differently today. Change just one aspect of your routine. Check in with yourself afterward. Ask yourself: “How do you feel now?” You might be surprised at how happy you are about that one little accomplishment.

As you get more practiced as your own personal change manager, step out just a little closer to the ledge. Maybe take a risk that scares you just a little bit. Be with that fear as you smile to yourself. “I’m scared as shit, and I’m doing it anyway.”

And when you find out that your life isn’t over after making that decision, you will find immeasurable joy within yourself because you, and no one else, made it happen.

Wow. I’m proud of you already!