3 tips for embracing change - Rachel Grunwell

Rachel Grunwell hosted a Balance Retreat at Maruia River Retreat in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The wellness expert and author of the book Balance: Food, Health + Happiness has a wealth of inspiration to share. We asked her what her three tips are for embracing change - a theme we are exploring this month with the coming of spring.

Tip 1:

Embrace the Japanese concept of kintsugi. This is the art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing imperfections or something that’s broken, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. So, “ broken is beautiful”. 

Every break is unique and instead of repairing an item back to new, the 400-year-old technique actually embraces the "scars" as a part of the design. 

 Using this as a metaphor for life teaches us an important lesson: Sometimes in the process of repairing things that have broken, we actually create something more beautiful and resilient.

Tip 2:

Change is constant and should be expected. Look at how you are “choosing” to respond to what’s happened. Yes, you get to choose how you respond. You don’t always choose what happens to you, but you are always choosing how you respond and perceive things. 

If you choose to "fall down" and feel defeated, then you will feel stuck and a failure. And this sucks. I get it. I’ve been there (a zillion times). 

 So try to choose instead to re-wire your brain to "fall up”. Look for opportunities that result from the change. Change can close doors, but that means it leaves you free to explore other unopened doors - that can be even more astonishingly beautiful.

Tip 3:

If change is a failure then that’s good. Failure is part of the process. Just learn from your failures to propel yourself forwards. Learn from the mistakes and be better, grow, improve… propel yourself forwards and live the s*** out of life. 

Successful people have failed a lot along the way. What makes them different is the ability to keep trying, not give up, and keep going until they get what they want.