10 Keys To Understanding the Challenges Change

Jack Welch once said, "If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near." What he was saying was that if people and companies don't perform, they perish; if they don't innovate, they become obsolete.?

One of the most critical aspects impacting our daily lives is the rate of change. Most of us make more decisions in a single year than our grandparents did in their lifetimes. One way to cope with this change is to develop concepts and principles of change and apply them in our lives.

1. First, we must all recognize change is not an option!

Like day and night, change is continually evolving in areas of our lives, whether we want it to or not. Embrace it.?

2. People who succeed in their lives embrace change through self-understanding and self-leadership skills.?

These skills allow them to confidently and successfully operate in a world undergoing more rapid change. They understand that the most influential people are those who have accepted responsibility and practice techniques and strategies to deal with the constant change they can't always predict, slow down, or stop.

3. We are not born with built-in coping skills. It is something we learn to do with practice.

Our ability to cope with change originates from the skills we learn as we continue down life's highway. As Steve Warner might add, "From the cradle to the grave." Once we understand and practice these skills, we become positive, confident, and more in control of our lives.?

4. Choice matters.

You have a choice to be either an excellent leader or a follower. You can be a creator of circumstances or a creature of circumstances. It may be harsh, but the truth is that those who engage and take time to determine their course, have strong personal values, and follow both are destined to lead themselves through change.?

5. Understand what drives change.

Disruption has become a regular part of our life. Three factors driving change affect your personal life, career, and organization.

• Artificial Intelligence – is changing the value we can extract from data and the nature of our interactions. AI represents the third era of computing and is used across most industries. The ability of AI to learn and improve based on experience creates limitless possibilities for the future.?
• Digital Infrastructure - the coming decade will see 5G and 6G networks deployed, supply chains and retail operations digitized, and climate change forces the fast adoption of smart grid management.?
• Workspace – The global pandemic made companies rethink their workspaces, leading to more investment in technology that allows them to communicate and collaborate easily, regardless of location. Hybrid work has become the preferred model, making tools that support a more flexible, open, and agile way of working a mandatory part of running a successful business.?

As an individual, you have to ask yourself: "what are my strategies in these areas to ensure an understanding of change and my maximum success?"

6. Accept, adapt and react.

An essential characteristic for individual success now and in the future is the quality of flexibility. Be willing to change for the right reasons you feel comfortable with, and be ready to change for the right reasons you feel satisfied.

7. Be precise and fast.

The key to an individual's competitive advantage is learning and applying new information faster than others. If you avoid learning and using new information, your mind becomes vague, leading to stress and an inability to make clear decisions. Clarity is the key.

8. Self-Leadership.

Self-leadership, sound decision-making, and acceptance of change start with understanding the answer to the question, "what if I was completely wrong?" One of the most dynamic questions any individual asks themselves to establish a clear perspective of past decisions is by asking this simple question. "Knowing what I know now, is there anything in my life I wouldn't do if I could do it over?"

9. Re-evaluate daily, weekly, and monthly.

Whatever has gotten you to where you are today is not enough to keep you there. Individuals who have developed strong personal leadership skills don't allow themselves to get stuck in a comfort zone. They understand that rethinking is helpful, whether in good times or in times of turbulence. Today's comfort zone can be a liability tomorrow. Your current situation requires regular evaluation based on your latest information, feedback, and discoveries. Frequently rethinking your current position requires you to abandon your assumptions. Change catches up to us all.?

10. It's hard to believe, but most life change leads to improvement.?

The key to less stress in your life caused by change is to:?

- Know yourself and where you are going.

- Understand what causes change in your life, and be willing to be a willing positive-minded participant in change strategies.?