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Sometimes in life, things might seem like they're not changing, especially when problems or challenges keep coming your way. However, change is a constant in life, even when it's too slow to notice right away. Let's talk about why things can still change even if it's not obvious, and how you, as a young teen, can handle these situations and use them to grow.

Understanding Slow Change

Think about how seasons change. You don't notice the change from day to day, but suddenly, the leaves on trees start to turn brown and fall off, or flowers begin to blossom. These changes don't happen overnight but over weeks and months. Like the seasons, many other changes that affect us directly also happen slowly and might be less noticeable. This kind of slow change can be frustrating, especially if you're waiting for something specific, like getting better at a sport or improving in a subject at school where you feel you're struggling. But remember, just because progress isn't instantly visible, it doesn't mean it's not happening. If you are feeling really low you must try to remember that change will come.

Why Can't You See Change Happening?

There are a few reasons why change might be hard to see:

• Gradual Progress: Improvements or changes that occur a little bit at a time can be hard to spot.
• Daily Routine: When you're caught up in your daily routine, it's tough to step back and see what's different or improved.
• Impatience: Being eager to see change can actually make it seem slower. This is similar to watching a pot, waiting for it to boil.

How This Affects You

As a teenager, you're at a point in your life where you might feel impatient for things to happen or change. Whether you're waiting to develop new skills, make new friends, improve your grades, or just become more independent, it can often feel like nothing is happening. This can be annoying, discouraging, or even make you feel anxious.

Strategies to Deal with Slow Change

Here's how you can handle and even help speed up change in your life:

1. Keep a Progress Diary

Writing down your experiences, thoughts, and achievements daily can help you see the small changes over time. This can be particularly helpful in school subjects or hobbies. For instance, write about a difficult maths problem you managed to solve or a new word you learned in a language class. Over time, you'll see how far you've come. It can help to track your mental health and happiness by scoring your day out of 100. Over time, so long as you're talking openly to someone to try to improve things, you will see your score going up.

2. Set Small, Achievable Goals

Instead of aiming for one big goal, break it down into smaller, more manageable parts. This can make change more visible and feel more immediate. For example, if you're aiming to read more books, start with a goal of reading one chapter per night. You can increase this count as you get more comfortable.

3. Talk about Your Feelings

Discussing your feelings with friends, family, or teachers can not only provide emotional support but can also help you gain perspectives that might reveal changes and growth you hadn't noticed.

4. Practise Patience

Learning to be patient is a vital skill itself. Mindfulness and meditation can help you feel more relaxed and accepting of the pace of change. These practices teach you to be in the moment and appreciate the here and now rather than always worrying about the future.

5. Review Regularly

Set aside time once a week to look back over what you've done and learnt. This will help you identify changes or improvements you might have overlooked during the hectic week. Change can be slow, and sometimes, it's almost invisible. However, if you learn to recognise and manage these gradual developments, you'll see that you are moving forward. This approach will not only help in seeing change but also in making change happen by actively participating in your own growth process.

In Conclusion

Change is often quiet and steady, much like the growth of a tree you don't see it expand every day, but over months and years, you can see a huge difference. Recognising and appreciating this can make you more patient and determined. Always remember, change is coming, even if it's not knocking loudly on your door!

How are you feeling?

It is really important that when we need help, we feel able to ask for it. This could be speaking to a parent, a close friend, a teacher or someone else you trust. Sometimes it can be really hard to share our feelings with other people but if we are feeling low or don't know where to turn, sharing with others is really important. Teachers will always take you seriously and listen to your problems in confidence if you approach them for help. Likewise, parents, siblings or friends will help you if you reach out to them.

If you feel like you can't speak to anyone you know, there are people and organisations that can help support you:

• Childline - Call them on 0800 1111 any time of the day or night, every day of the week
• NSPCC - Call them on 0808 800 5000 between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday or email them on help@NSPCC.org.uk
• The Samaritans – Call them on 116 123 any time of the day or night, every day of the week
• SANE – Call 0300 304 7000 for support (4:30pm - 10:30pm every day)
• Mind – Call 0300 123 3393 (9:00am - 6:00pm Monday to Friday)

*Sometimes we will use real life examples in our articles to aid understanding. When we do, names and ages will be changed.