Change can be a bit Marmite (or should that be Vegemite in honour of my new country, Australia?!) you either love it or hate it. But I don’t believe that change should be hated, or even feared, in fact I think it should be embraced and here’s why.

Over the last couple of years I’ve made some fairly significant life changes (&more details below), and in the last 2 month I have left my job, moved out of my flat and moved to the other side of the world, not of course forgetting Christmas! I know for some all these changes would trigger a whole wealth of stress (I’m not saying I haven’t been feeling the stress!) but luckily for me I’m a big fan of change. I panic when I stay in the same place too long and I’m the serial job changer, changing my job almost as often as I change where I’m living, both of which I seem to have done fairly frequently! My current count is 13 different towns/cities in 5 different countries and numerous job titles.

So now that I’ve been in Sydney over a month & am feeling a little more settled it feels like a good time to reflect on how all this change has been treating me. As a result of my current changes;

I feel lighter

Whilst changing from the faff of a winter coat, gloves, hat and winter boots to the simplicity of light summer clothes & flip flops has definitely helped, life feels lighter beyond the shrugging off of winter clothes. As I moved all my stuff from my own flat to my parents then into 30 kg of luggage I was forced to minimalise, assessing what I truly wanted to keep. As I packed & weighed & packed & reweighed I realised that stuff is heavy so now all my belongings have been carefully selected and only my favourite or most useful items remain.

I’m not going to pretend I now only have 30 kg of possessions to my name (though I bet that would feel wonderfully light!) as some stuff came ahead of me, my bike & surfboard are currently making their journey across the sea to get here & the house of mum & dad is also helping out! But still, I have less stuff then I did have & it feels good. With this awareness I have made the commitment to accumulate less in future, only buying things when I truly want or need them.

I’ve been drawn to declutter

Beyond the physical I’ve been decluttering electrically too, I had so many articles, videos, blogs, random quotes & other things of interest saved in various places that it was like a hoarders digital house, it was getting hard to get through the door for so much stuff, let alone find anything! So I’ve slowly been organising, rationalising and putting everything in the right place (for me Evernote plays a big part). I’m not there yet but I’m looking forward to the time when I can put my finger (or mouse!) on exactly the article or video or book I’m thinking about without the hassle, so my digital stuff speeds me up rather then slows me down.

I have the time & space to reassess

Without the physical & digital clutter or the hectic schedule of a busy calendar I feel that I have the space to breathe, the ability to listen & the time to reassess. I am noticing things I haven’t paid attention to for a long time – my injured shoulder still in need of physio which I have ignored for the last 3 years or the numerous Ted talks I have saved which I would actually quite like to be watching! And with this new perspective I can assess the things I am choosing to or maybe more importantly not to spend my time on.

I’m embracing the new but choosing it wisely

With this new beginning I have the opportunity to start things afresh. It’s a little like starting a beautiful new notebook, the crispness of the first page, undented by writing from other pages, the desire to write neatly & keep it looking beautiful. Similarly for me change has brought a new perspective & the desire to keep life looking beautiful or more simply to do things right. So as I go about creating my new daily, weekly & monthly routine I am committed to prioritising the important things, incorporating as many of the elements that are meaningful to me as possible. For me this includes exercising regularly, getting outdoors, keeping in touch with family & friends and continuing to learn to name but a few. Life is an ever changing balance but it’s one that I will continue to work on.

Over to you: have you got any big changes on the horizon? Or the desire to make some?

On this occasion my changes have come about by circumstance (& are somewhat on the large scale!) but the thing about change is that it doesn’t have to be quite so life changing! Start by identifying one small change you would like to make, take the time to gradually put it into practise and see where it takes you.  Don’t forget to embrace the change & enjoy it!

I would love to know how you get on, please get in touch or let me know in the comments below.

* Intrigued by the changes I’ve been making?!

•  I began 2014 with a resolution to work less, sail more & travel more – pretty easy to put in place when I had a year’s sabbatical arranged from work and was flying to Brisbane to join the Clipper Round the World race the day after!
• In November 2014 I switched things up again (sadly I couldn’t travel for ever!) getting a new job with a new company in a new sector, in a new town which meant a new flat, & new friends & new places to explore! I then happily kept things the same for a year or so, aware of the even bigger changes that were approaching with 2016.
• The 1st of January 2016 saw in a bit more than a new year for me;
  • a move to a new city (in a new country & a new hemisphere).
  • a new flat (new to me this is, it’s not brand new!) with a new housemate & the newness of actually “living with a boy”, not just a flatmate!
  • a new climate (hello sunshine!), new places to explore & new hobbies to discover.
  • new friends to find (& the joy of catching up with old friends that I haven’t seen for a while).
  • a new working routine (which so far doesn’t even include a job, now that is really new to me!).