The unknown might seem scary, but it can also take you to some amazing places.

It is a common conception world-over that ‘change’ is something to be feared, because it comes alongside bad connotations and disorientations and general nastiness. It usually means you have to miss something or someone, or you have to leave your comfort zone, or you have to fend for yourself. These aren’t things that we necessarily enjoy, but we do, necessarily, have to endure. Turning the ‘endurance’ aspect into a more positive adjective is what the general population of the planet must learn to do. Change happens, and it can sometimes be for the better, and it can sometimes be for the worse, but ultimately, the end of the story is that there is no stopping it from happening. It occurs around us, not necessarily to us.

The general turn of time requires change. Your mood can change from one hour to the next. Your outlook can change from one hour to the next. Your goals can change from one hour to the next. Simply the only way to embrace this change and to see it in a positive light is to accept it. Accept its necessity and the benefits it brings to us, not just what it takes from us. Change takes away our carefree childhood – but it also replaces it with knowledge and wisdom to grow. It can also take away loved ones – but this allows you to fully appreciate those who are lucky enough to still be around. These things may feel like they are happening TO you, but really, they are happening to everyone around you, and you are not alone with this feeling. It is time to stop feeling victimised by the things that change brings, and realise that avoiding it just does not work.

More positively, things would never get better without change. Change puts an end to bad situations, and because of that, we must thank it. Without it, improving yourself or your way of life wouldn’t be possible; everything would be static. Being stagnant is a very dangerous place to be; it’s worse than the ‘comfort zone’ for encouraging a lack of motivation and bettering yourself. The best way to embrace change is to learn from it and grow from it. And on that note, here are 5 ways that change can benefit you and your life:

1. It allows you to adapt. Learning how to adapt is a valuable lesson in life. Being able to adapt quickly to different situations, and know how to react in certain environments is an important part of growing up. It makes you a prized asset as a friend, a partner or an employee as it shows that you are strong in new situations and can lead the way.

2. The snowball effect. Doing something small that, accumulatively, can make something larger. Little changes make big changes seem less daunting. By making small changes one at a time, this is a beneficial way to invoke a bigger change in the future. By accepting and learning to adapt to little changes make the forthcoming larger change less intimidating, and by the time you have reached the larger change you won’t have even noticed it because it will have been so gradual. You will look back and wonder how you even did it.

3. Learn to initiate change in the direction you want to go. Initiating change is the key to reaching goals and achieving what you want from life. By learning to initiate change instead of fear it, you are learning how to better yourself and allow yourself at least the chance to reach the goals you have set for yourself.

4. It keeps life exciting. People get bored when things are the same day in and day out. Yet they also complain when things start to change and push them out of their comfort zone. It’s time to realise that by coming to enjoy the changes in your life you’ll begin to look for them and look forward to them. It’s exciting! There is nothing more debilitating than being bored. By changing things up here and there it keeps things moving and active, and helps to handle your fear of change, as you realise, it’s not even nearly all bad.

5. Helps you get to know yourself and what you can handle. Personal growth is necessary, alongside change. They are in fact mutually exclusive. By embracing the changes around you, and initiating change alongside this, you learn to realise what you can handle. And with this realisation, you will surprise yourself, because you will master the idea that humans are actually built for change and growth, and they are resilient to different environments and situations. You will realise that you will be fine, regardless of the change in position/situation/environment.

Essentially, it is important to embrace the benefits of change, and let them happen. If we don’t do this, our lives will become stagnant and we will become bored with what is around us, and this is not what creates an enjoyable and exciting life. Change is what makes life exciting and stimulating, by learning things about ourselves and our loved ones through one of life’s only constant – change.