Suppose you planned something, whether it’s an event or a personal plan of some kind.

It’s expected to happen at a specific moment. You wait with excitement as what you planned is expected to occur tomorrow, but…SURPRISE! Last minute changes.

What you worked so hard to schedule and/or waited eagerly has either been cancelled or delayed. What happens to people who go through last minute changes? What issues do we struggle with? How can we cope with our struggles? Is there anything positive that’s experienced through last minute changes?

As we receive last minute changes, we tend to react in certain ways such as frustration, nervousness, sadness and desperation toward events that have been delayed or cancelled. If we happened to be waiting on something that’s a high priority and an opportunity closes, such as job shadowing, then it would cause stress over whether it would affect the 21st century scholar tasks or not.

It’s understandable to worry over situations that may harm your life and losing touch with people you desire to socialize. Heck, if last minute changes keep happening repeatedly at unexpected moments, then at worst, we’d become paranoid and worried about the next change and/or become doubtful even over what seems to be completed tasks. It’s a good thing to prepare for an inevitable and unpredictable change, but it’s not healthy to think about it nonstop and worry every time an event and/or task is planned.

The best ways to deal with last minute changes is to learn how to adapt. We have to accept that sometimes there’s something unexpected that throws our ideas out the window. Adjust whatever it is you’ve planned to a later time if possible. Those of you who aren’t reacting to last minute changes in a healthy way should try and communicate to someone who can help them manage unhealthy behavior. Seek a therapist or some other expert if you struggle with coping last minute changes to the point of having mental breakdowns.

I may have talked about how last minute changes impact mental health and plans, but not everything is negative. In fact, last minute changes teach us lessons on how to adapt, plan events better, become creative, and give us a chance to reach out to people in order to improve our lives. There can even be minor changes to be proud of, like for example, a snow day cancelled one day of school, thus giving you an extra day to catch up on assignments.

So my advice is to not let last minute changes cause you too much anxiety, but rather use them a way to grow.