Smooth changes demand positive attitude

Adapting to change in a healthy effective manner requires more than simply enduring differences by struggling through each day. It necessitates viewing new situations with enthusiasm and excitement rather than with dread and as a potential threat.

This “new viewing” can expand our tolerance for things previously considered unacceptable. By exercising our capacity to push boundaries outward, we increase our ability to deal with novel situations as they arise and decrease the potential for sensing psychological assault when thrown into these new situations. Intentionally exposing ourselves to change in a graduated fashion can often help accomplish this task.

While on vacation in a large city, my family and I decided to exercise tolerance for change during a day of sightseeing. Rather than rent a car, we decided we might see more if we opted for public transportation. With a pocketful of change and dollar bills, we embarked with enthusiasm on a bus.

Our first impression of the venture was positive since the equipment was clean. Fellow passengers, on the other hand, were interesting to say the least. Their appearance and manners ranged from usual and customary to unexpected and different.

During one leg of a bus ride, the steady drone of the engines lulled me into a light slumber. A feeling of excruciating pain caused a startled awakening, however, as a size 13 shoe rode down my shin bone. The gentleman who seated himself next to me seemed unaware or uncaring about the pain he had inflicted and I stayed alert for the remainder of that bus ride.

Later in the day, I sat next to a poor soul who was actively engaged in a hallucinatory fantasy. Her imagined pursuers posed her great harm, and she reacted with convulsive arm and leg movements. My professional experience enabled me to view this poor traveler with compassion and concern.

Our family quickly began to realize that observing and interacting with a variety of unusual people provided an interesting change from our usual routine at home.

Attitudes of the transportation employees ran the gamut of providing help to a total indifference. When I asked one bus driver for information regarding transfer and disembarking guidelines, I received a sharp and critical rebuke. He instructed me to read a poorly written and difficult to understand set of instructions. Dealing with him presented a real challenge, but one that was essential in our attempt to avoid ending up miles from our destination. Fortunately, a fellow passenger sensed our plight and assisted us.

At the end of the day, my family tallied the results of our challenge for change. We had seen sights we would not have seen had we been in a private car. We mingled with passengers we never would have brushed shoulders with otherwise, which gave us insight into ever-changing societal and demographic divisions. We dealt fairly successfully with some difficult people. We felt the day was a success.

We never know for sure what the new year will hold. But if we can resolve to adapt to changes by broadening our horizons, we will increase our ability to deal with changes in our lives.