How to Think Through Change Instead of Being Broken by It
By Hunter Grimm (Inspired by The Successful Mind Podcast)
How to Think Through Change Instead of Being Broken by It
Change is constant. Crisis? Inevitable. But how we respond—that’s a choice most people never realize they have.
I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. Not in some academic sense, but through real, raw, sometimes humiliating life experience. And if you’re navigating uncertainty, heartbreak, burnout, or breakdown—I wrote this for you.
Why Most People Suffer When Life Shifts
It’s not the change itself that hurts the most.
It’s being unprepared, and worse—misled.
We’re conditioned to chase stability. Taught to measure safety by sameness. So when life throws its curveballs—financial crashes, global crises, personal losses—we spiral. And in that spiral, we don’t think clearly.
We freeze, react, and default to fear.
Because no one taught us how to think through change.
The Law of Polarity: Every Crisis Has a Counterbalance
There’s a universal principle I lean on in moments of chaos:
The Law of Polarity.
It states that everything has two sides.
Pain comes with wisdom. Loss invites rebirth. The breakdown clears space for breakthrough.
But this only becomes real if we stop reacting long enough to ask:
“What else is here?”
Don't Get Stuck at the Level of the Problem
David Neagle said it best:
“When you don’t know how to think, you get reduced to the level of the problem.”
And I’ve lived that reality—
When I lost my footing in life, I didn’t just feel powerless... I believed I was.
But the real trap?
I only asked: “How do I make this stop?”
What I should’ve asked was:
“What do I want?”
The Two Questions That Reframe Everything
What do I want?
This shifts your focus from reacting to creating. It’s a bold act of remembering your power.What if I didn’t have to figure out the “how” right now?
That’s the universe’s job. Yours is to choose. Clarity reveals the path—one step at a time.
Your Perception Is a Lens. Aim It Wisely.
Fear is like fog on a windshield.
It distorts what’s real, shrinks your options, and locks you in survival mode.
But the mind?
It’s like a camera lens—you can focus it.
Start by turning the lens inward:
What story am I telling myself?
Is it rooted in truth—or in trauma?
What would courage say right now?
A Personal Reminder From Rock Bottom
Years ago, I faced my own economic collapse.
I had no skills, no direction, and ended up on food stamps. Not because I was lazy—
but because I didn’t know how to think differently.
I wasn’t dumb. I was just untrained.
That’s when I stopped asking how to survive—
and started asking how to evolve.
Here’s What I Do When Change Hits Me Now
Accept the change. Don’t waste energy resisting reality.
Ask what I want. That one question brings direction.
Block out the noise. Media, fear, opinions—they muddy the lens.
Decide to grow. Even if I don’t know the path yet.
Stay in motion. Momentum, no matter how small, builds clarity.
Final Thought: Be the Calm in the Storm
Change doesn’t mean the end.
It’s the test. The invitation. The portal.
If you can learn to think—deeply, deliberately, differently—you won’t just survive what’s coming.
You’ll lead through it.
So the next time everything shifts around you…
Pause.
Breathe.
And ask:
“What do I want now?”
That’s where your power lives.
