The world is changing in a big way right now, from global political systems to how we do our business day-to-day. The way it has always been is being overtaken by a dynamic new paradigm. The truth is that human existence has never been static and while there certainly are comfortable places and spaces in our lives, when those comfortable places and spaces are changed or upended, we get stressed, really stressed. Some more than others, for sure, yet, part of learning about and adjusting to change, from a different perspective, is that change is not necessarily good or bad. It just is.
We can see resistance to change all around us. People resist changing their opinions about people who love each other of the same sex or about gun ownership or background checks or about Internet privacy, tracking, and the surveillance that is going or about who to believe or trust about what. It seems that change, at every level of life, is resisted. Why? Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher, said 2,500 years ago that the only constant is change. It is constant! We know it is and yet, generally speaking, change scares the fool out of most folks and it seems this fear-based world reiterates constantly that change is a scary, bad thing.
We don’t have to buy into the fear of change. We can see that the way we did business five years ago is almost as antiquated as the 8-track tape. Technology has shifted everything and most of us have become adept at surfing the new waves crashing on our professional shores almost daily. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming. Sometimes we feel like we have enough change to spare and offer to another.
The bottom line is that we really don’t have any change to spare We need all of it to grow ourselves and our businesses at this time.
The best way to navigate this constant of change is to remember to step back, take a couple of deep breaths and get centered in ourselves. Then, look at the challenges or opportunities presented by this change. Will we let the wave of overwhelm just crash onto us? Or, will we see it as a chance for growth knowing that we can handle it? In just that minute or two of reflection, we can adjust ourselves to avoid the crash and reduce our stress levels.
We are the only ones who can decide how whatever the change is impacts us. No one else can do that. If we can avoid labeling the change as either good or bad, we take back more control of our life. Lots of times the changes we have to experience are so radical, so big, that we feel like we just can’t handle it. We can. It may not be easy, but we can and while we cannot prevent the change, we certainly can decide how or if the change will change us. As we adjust to a larger perspective of change, we will come to understand that change is just a way of life and, therefore, just a way of responding to the dance that goes on which is life itself.
So, by changing ourselves, by changing how we react, how we evaluate, and how we discern the change that is happening, we can become skilled surfers on the sea of change rather than allowing that sea to pound us over and over again. Our surfing success will propel us more and more into making the choices of whether we are distressed or disturbed by change or whether we take advantage of change and see other doors, opportunities, and visions that can open to support us in all aspects of our lives.
Cowabunga!
Change is inevitable. Life itself is change because living means adapting to an ever-changing environment. This applies to people as much as it does to organizations. It is only necessary to learn about and “guide” the change so that it is not a destiny to undergo but an opportunity to grow. This means having three “ingredients”: the AWARENESS of oneself (potential and limits of our mind-psyche), a SENSE to give to our life (the map we have built for the journey of our life) and a healthy one good motivation dose. These three elements are distinct but deeply correlated and mutually influential, for this reason it will not be enough to have only one or two, but they are all needed. But if I had to set a priority, I would certainly start from awareness.