07/21/2025
Change is chaotic and challenging, especially for your nervous system. But it’s also a necessary part of life and your own personal growth.
You won’t be able to control the process, but there are some ways that you can make it easier on yourself.
One of those ways is by working with something called your ✨ window of tolerance ✨
Your window of tolerance is your capacity to deal with things that seem threatening or that lack the safety and comfort of familiarity.
If you’re within your window of tolerance, your nervous system can cope and adapt, even if difficult things happen. You’re able to handle the situation.
If you’re beyond your window of tolerance you may feel anxious, overwhelmed, angry, out of control, spacey/disconnected, or frozen.
The trick during change or transition is to try to stay within your window of tolerance as much as you can.
When you start on a path of personal growth, you’re actively deciding to leave old patterns behind which are currently the main structure of your window of tolerance or comfort zone.
When you leave behind the familiar and the safe, you feel a sense of threat.
If you move too fast you step outside of your window of tolerance you’ll flood your nervous system and many times create a trauma response in your body.
This often causes you to revert back to your comfort zone, sometimes for quite awhile.
✨ The key is to map out baby steps on your path to change ✨
Small steps allow you to maintain a feeling of some safety (inside your window of tolerance) while still pushing yourself to grow.
This balance is completely unique to the person and to what’s being challenged.
All meaningful change is made with slow and steady persistence.
The slower you go the faster you’ll get there ❤️
If you liked this post, you might really enjoy my blog, How to Have a Conversation with Your Fear: https://www.drlizcarter.com/how-to-have-a-conversation-with-your-fear-realistically/
