Adapting to Change

Change is inevitable in this day and age, so why do people still get anxious and nervous when change occurs? Much of it is related to our outlook on life and what we choose to focus on. In my view what is boils down to is that we have two choices; we can focus on the ‘issue’ or the ‘solution’.

From there we have two main levels of change, the one you initiate personally and the one you are “forced” into. As a result change brings different nuances to our life which we will examine further here.

Voluntary Change

Whether we realize it or not, we initiate and adapt to change all the time. When you try a new restaurant, listen to new music, and even when you meet new people - all of these little decisions are initiating change. So why is this so much easier to accept? These are choices you make yourself and most of the time you make the changes when you want. This does not mean that every choice you make throughout your life will be easier, yet there is a feeling we get in our body when we are holding control (or at least the illusion of the control) over our lives. It’s about accountability. Accountability gives us self esteem, builds up our emotional health and gives us a sense of accomplishment.

Interestingly, we do not usually label actions like the ones we listed above with the word change. We use phrases like trying something new or "stepping out of our comfort zone". Even though we are inciting change, we do not refer to it as such.

Word association is important to recognize because it can also help us focus on solutions instead of issues - especially when it comes to circumstances that are out of our control.

Forced Change

A forced change is something we did not choose, whether that is at work or at home. An example of this type of change in the workplace is a new computer system being introduced. As an employee you can’t say no, you can’t even influence the “when” or the “why”... your role is to accept, learn and apply.

The degree to which this new system will succeed is partially in your hands because of how you react. Are you going to choose to focus on the issue that you need to learn something new, understanding that things will take longer to execute for the first little while, knowing you may lose some confidence in your abilities until you perfect the new system. Or will you focus on the solution that you have a new system, you will get training on it will ask as many questions as possible to ensure you do not reduce your efficiency at work?

An example of a forced change at home could be a flood in your basement. It has ruined all your furniture, your decor and you need to cut out the bottom 12 inches of your drywall and start over. Now even though you have the ability to choose how you will redo the basement, it's not something you planned, and you are forced to deal with the removal of the water and all damaged items right away so you can avoid mold, mildew, etc.

As you can see, no matter whether the change is your choice or others' you always have choices and those choices will affect the outcome either positively or negatively.

To help you through change consider examining one of the different models that guide us to process and beneficially adjust to our circumstances. There is the ADKAR Model, Kotter Steps, Lewin’s Model, Kubler-Ross... to name a few. They all provide different steps and methods on how to adapt when we forced into a position of change. What is important for you, your family, your colleagues and most importantly for your peace of mind is to stay open.

Having an open mind does not mean you need to agree to the change, yet it allows you to understand what is happening and gives you time to think.