I have a love/hate relationship with August. It’s my birthday-love that! But it’s the end of summer-hate that. I can always tell summer is winding down by the length of the shadows in the backyard and the run down look of the annuals in my  garden. I remember being a little kid and looking forward to and sort of dreading my birthday at the same time because I knew it meant the magic of summer would soon be replaced by the start of school.

Just after my birthday, we’d go back to school and every kid had on new Levi’s, carried unblemished notebooks and showed off those metal lunch boxes without any scratches yet. Being on Long Island, we all arrived with dark tans and bleached hair that faded in the first few weeks. Most of us changed our outside appearances but we also seemed different on the inside. We grew up just a little bit. In the world of a kid, a few months makes a big difference. Things were the same but different. We could try hard-or not. We could join a new group-or not. September meant a clean slate.

I see my daughters getting edgy about the start of school. There’s the waiting and the seemingly endless countdown of the days. But there is also the opportunity-to be something different, to make new friends, to have new experiences, to jump at everything life has to offer, to be a different kid than the one who left in June.

I’m looking at the growing shadows and thinking what new opportunity is out there for me and for you? How can we look at the world differently? What can we open ourselves up to that we haven’t before? It’s a clean slate my friends. Let’s create something wonderful!

Change can feel scary at times, but it can also feel exciting.  Like so many other things in life, it all depends on your mindset.  Here are some of my personal tips on how I reframe my mindset about change:

• Personally, I find it helpful to remind myself that change is a constant companion in life; one I can choose to embrace as a friend rather than fear as a foe.
  
• I know as human beings we are continually evolving, and change is part of our evolution. When I choose to view change as an opportunity for growth, it inevitably feels more positive in nature.
  
• I think about how dull life would be if everything stayed the same day in and day out. Even if “the same” was wonderful, after time, life would begin to appear dull and boring. I know for me, I tend to dream of how great it would be to relax on the beach everyday, but I know from experience, when I’m on vacation doing just that, by the end of the week, I’m craving change.
  
• I understand that some changes are outside our control, while others are of our own making. For those outside our control, I find it helpful to believe that everything is unfolding perfectly. And for those changes that are by choice, I find it helpful to stay connected to my WHY (why do I want this to change?) Doing so keeps me grounded when the fear begins to bubble up and the "what ifs" begin to creep into my mind (what if I fail? What if this change makes life more difficult? etc.)
  
• And last, but not least, when things appear to change for the worst in my life, I tell myself to hold on because they will change again real soon! And once I’ve calmed down, I can begin to look for the lesson in the change. I remind myself that all things are happening FOR me not TO me.

Hopefully you find these tips helpful in reframing change in your life. Please feel free to respond with some of your tips, and share your wisdom on how you reframe change in your life!