Master the art of adaptation and mitigate your suffering.
Life is a continuous cycle of never ending phases, changes, situations, experiences, and opportunities. We all go through different seasons in our lives and in order to ensure smooth transitions with the seasons we must learn to adapt (and many times without a moment’s notice). Life is all about adapting. When you live with someone, if you want to live peacefully you will have to learn to adapt to living with that new person, and you also have to learn to adapt to their habits and lifestyle. Though you may not even realize it, as you age and grow older your body will change, the way you move will change, and even the way you dress will change. As you age, you must adapt to your changing desires and needs.
Seasons
Just as we adapt to the 4 seasons of the year (unless you live in places that have less variation in their climate) so we must adapt to life. When the seasons change, most of us change how we dress, our bodies adjust to the changing temperatures through regulation, our skin may get dryer and need more moisture, our diets may change (e.g. different fruits and veggies being in and out of season), etc. No matter how much you hate one season or like another season more, the seasons still come and go; and unless you want to be uncomfortable, you adapt to the current season, and often we get used to it after a while.
Change
Why do so many of us constantly resist change in our lives? Why do we fight against it when we know deep down that the change will most likely be positive and more beneficial for us? Often times we are simply scared of what the change will bring and scared of being displaced out of our comfort zone. Many parents resist the fact that their kids are going to get older and eventually move on with their life (e.g. go to college, get married, have kids, move out, or not go to college and instead work or pursue other ventures). Many people in dead relationships continue to deny that their relationships are not working; yet, they resist ending the relationship because of the changes that will come along with the demise of their relationship. Furthermore, they are scared of being alone or not finding someone who will love them again. Moreover, many of us may resist taking care of ourselves; we know we need to be more physically active in addition to making positive dietary changes, but instead we resist. Adaptation means accepting change without resistance. Adaptation is the art of flowing with time, life, situations, responsibilities, moods, attitudes, and random fortunate and unfortunate events. Being an adaptable person does not mean that you will never experience fear or anxiety when change arises, but it does mean that you readily trust the process and the results of the process of change.
Overtime
Sometimes we have experienced a season of our life for what seems to us as too long. Sometimes certain seasons of our lives are like football games that go into overtime. Sometimes situations and events do not end or cease when we want them too. Life often keeps us in certain situations until we are truly ready to move ahead, adapt, and accept the lesson we are meant to absorb.