How to Overcome Fear of Change

I worked at a tech company for four years until I was impacted by of a round of layoffs. I’ll never forget that unsettling feeling I had when I saw my manager take a deep breath and walk toward my coworker to call him into his office. Then, my manager called me into his office as well. The news of us losing our jobs felt surreal. Suddenly I was faced with a new chapter in my life that I had not planned for. How do you overcome fear of change? I was very lucky. I had a good severance package and, in my heart, I knew that I wasn’t well suited to that line of work. My layoff provided me with the fresh start I needed to transition from technical to humanities’ work. I needed that layoff because I was too afraid to create that change myself.

Don’t underestimate your resilience and ability to adapt to change.

As Crystal Raypole writes, managing change is harder for some than others. Just remember that you’ve gone through many life changes already. You may have forgotten about them because you’ve adapted. You are more capable than you think you are!

Let go of limiting assumptions: don’t assume that the outcome of the change will be bad.

Managing uncertainty and a fear of exploring are easier when you put aside self-limiting beliefs. Continually telling yourself that ‘this sucks’ only increases your fear of change. Instead of dreading the disruption change brings, can you view it as a learning opportunity? Sometimes a sudden change in our lives can be just the kick in the pants we need to create a fresh start for ourselves. As Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” What recent change has become a fresh start for you?