So, it’s February. Perhaps you are finding it hard to stay committed to your New Years resolutions. Or your year-end business goals are proving harder to accomplish than you anticipated. Or you have put off making that change in your personal life that you know you have to make. Let’s face it, change is hard.
“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” Arnold Bennett
The process of change can cause disruption in your life. This disruption can hit close to home and play with your emotions, bringing about feelings of doubt, uncertainty, and lack of control. It’s natural to want to maintain the status quo, it feels safer. But is it better?
It is often said that change is the only constant in life. Yet we are evolutionarily predisposed to resist change because of the risk associated with it. Leadership today is all about managing disruption, and disruption is an hourly occurrence. Organizations and people that don’t embrace change are bound to lose ground and stagnate. Change is natural. Embrace it. Welcome it as an opportunity.
“Change is hard because people over-estimate the value of what they have – and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.” James Belasco and Ralph Staye
Whether you are undergoing change in the workplace or in your personal life, there are a few constants to bear in mind as you transition:
- Nothing happens without a readiness to change. You and everyone around you must buy in to the change and the reasons for walking the path.
- A support infrastructure is integral. Peer support and pressure drive change, and the emotional and logistical support will keep you afloat.
- Replace old habits with new ones. Replace negative situations with positive ones.
- Continuous introspection is key. Are you on the right path? Change is fluid, be willing to adjust.
- The goal is progress, not perfection. Overcome any setbacks you encounter and re-focus.
“Life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.” Jim Rohm