Are you ready for Life’s Big Changes? These events may range from marriage, divorce, job changes, remarriage, children, step children, unexpected illness, parental care, and of course your own retirement or your “second act”. Life does throw us curveballs, to use a baseball analogy and for most of us, we probably are not as well prepared for these with the possible exception of marriage and children. (Curveballs can be both positive and not so positive!)

curveballs marriage life changesThese curveballs or life changing events can seem like we are on the edge of a cliff without a parachute, particularly when considering divorce, job layoff, or unexpected “career move” to a place you weren’t planning on. It shakes our confidence and our self-worth, however, these events can lead you to make an even bigger more positive impact on your life and lifestyle that you could not see nor imagine. Most of us are uncomfortable with change. But let’s look at CHANGE with a different set of eyes.

In our daily lifestyle, CHANGE is happening all of the time. If we carefully observe, we will notice changes in our friends, our parents’ health, our children, or our work environment. These small daily or weekly changes, may eventually lead to bigger decisions, or events and may impact you, positively or negatively. Let’s talk about embracing CHANGE, because it will happen and you may be surprised with the outcome that may bring new opportunities, transformation, and personal growth.

When my husband was diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer last year, we were not prepared for this CHANGE in daily regimen or lifestyle. However, our family huddled together and “embraced this unexpected curveball” in our life. Each of us had to make daily changes and sacrifices to help my husband, Stephen, recover from this insidious disease. While there was fear and anxiety, we focused on the positive, the recovery process, the daily regimens, his wonderful physicians and team members, and how our lives would be once he was considered “cancer free”. He had wonderful health care and since he was a Medicare participant, the financial aspects of his illness were more easily managed. Today, Stephen is cancer free and while there are additional curveballs that came with this illness, we feel that we hit that “curveball out of the park”.

curveballs find your center recenter reframeWhen you are planning for a change or have an unexpected curveball thrown at you, take time for yourself and stop to dig deeper to reframe this as possibly a catalyst to enhance your situation, whether work, wealth or a self-worth. Step back and remind yourself of your big dreams for yourself, your family, your health and your finances. Look at what you can gain, rather than focus on the potential losses. We tend to turn our attention to the negative more quickly, as that is human nature, and we may lose an opportunity to change our life and those around us. The assessment of where we are, what it may “cost”, what can be gained, whether financial, career, health or overall peace of mind, is worth the time and energy to map out and to delve further into the emotion of that change.

And finally, we can all learn from the past, from our parents and grandparents. If it is a career move, we can learn from our mentors and leaders, with whom we worked. They are teachable moments every day from those who are close to us, as well as, learning as we grow. Ask for help from a mentor or follow a well-known community leader for tips on change. With social media today, it is easy to connect and most people are willing to help and support a peer. For many of us in the workforce today, our jobs are not promised to us like our parents or grandparents. Being a mobile and talented contributor, who is always learning, growing in their field is a valuable and rewarding skill.

In summary, Life’s Curveballs and Change is the way of our lives today. Time is usually not our friend when faced with life changing events. Change is inevitable and it is survivable, and while unexpected changes may knock us down for a bit, getting back up to bat and staying in the game of life will help you hit those curveballs outta the park!