ROBERT J.R. GRAHAM: Adjusting To A New Environment

Moving Forward: Tips For Completing The Past & Adjusting To Your New Environment

by: Bercedeh Stark

We are all, from time to time, faced with challenges, struggles and adversity in our life – especially if we are faced with a move across the ocean or into a new and foreign environment. It is all part of the wondrous, joyful experience called life. Yet our reactions to each bump in the road govern whether the bump sets us momentarily off course or throws us completely off the road.

As much as we all like to believe that we face each experience having learned the lessons from the experiences in our past, the truth is that many of us have to repeat the same lessons over and over again before we are truly able to graduate Life’s Lessons.

For many of us, our reactions are steeped in past issues: feelings of anger, helplessness, or overwhelm. Whenever those feelings are evoked, it is difficult for us to respond clearly and openly to a current issue.

What I challenge you to master is to focus on the present whenever you are faced with challenging situations. It is only in focusing on the here and now that you will be able to respond authentically to current challenges as you will be concentrating on the feelings you are currently experiencing – rather than focusing on those of the past. It can be extremely difficult to complete with the past but it is also extremely empowering to finally put troubling issues to rest.

Imagine being fully in charge of your life’s journey and directing its course. Imagine freeing yourself from the belief that life has to be this way and giving yourself permission to change what you do not like. Imagine transforming the way you respond to each new experience – positive and negative. If you believe that you are capable of transition, then you will achieve it.

This is especially important for The Constant Transient. Whether I successfully transition into a new environment depends greatly on my belief system. My beliefs can serve me well to respond to a situation, or they can hinder me and keep me locked in the past. If I have the belief that my life was much better “back home,” I will never adapt to my new surroundings, get along with new colleagues or even enjoy my new career. If I believe that things were better in the past, I will always be stuck in the past and will be blocked from moving forward in my present life.

Here are some tips to help you move beyond the past and greet the present with joy and enthusiasm:

Take Action: A question I often ask clients is: What do you do when XYZ happens? More often than not, “I just ignore it” is the answer. Ignoring your current circumstances means that you are practicing tolerance for a situation which does not feel right to you. If we swallow whatever we do not like, we are not empowered to take action and change our situation for the better. We will continue to go through life unhappily.

Shift Your Perception: When we manage to shift our outlook from “everything was better in the past” to committing to doing our best to understand and learn what we need to succeed in our lives in the here and now, we then give ourselves room for action and positive response. Suddenly, situations that seemed insurmountable are a smorgasbord of endless choices and opportunities.

Remember: we all have within us the power to transform any negative situation into an experience of positive growth. By shifting our perception and learning to take action, we can truly empower our lives to the fullest and experience boundless joy and abundance.

By incorporating the above tips into your moving strategy, you will help all members of your family complete issues in the past and feel that they have choices and are in control of the circumstances surrounding their move.