Embrace the Power of Change

If there’s one thing that humans tend to resist more than anything else, it’s the prospect of change. Does that sound familiar to you? The fact is that we’re creatures of habit and that means we really don’t feel comfortable around change. We prefer things to be predictable. And this principle applies even when the results don’t match our needs or ambitions.

Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay.

-??????Simone de Beauvoir

Just think of all the major causes of stress that show up in our modern, technologically-advanced lives and each and every one of them involves some kind of change or the fear that things are going to be different and strangely unfamiliar. There’s a good deal of psychological evidence that supports this idea. We make choices in life across a very broad range of issues and then we find it extremely difficult to change our minds or alter our views. Humans have a remarkable tendency to cling doggedly to the familiar, justifying our choices even when the evidence contradicts our viewpoint.

In many cases, it seems that we’d much rather be right than happy or successful.

This obsession with being ‘right’ invariably involves making someone else ‘wrong’, so it’s easy to see how this behaviour contains the potential for conflict. The problem with this widespread phenomenon of clinging to the familiar is that it traps us within a set of limitations that can block our progress and sabotage our ambitions. Einstein may have suggested that the definition of insanity is when we keep repeating the same actions and behaviours and still expect a different outcome - but he was surely referring to the human weakness of avoiding anything that produces change – or discomfort.

Yet, the moment you accept that change is likely to involve some degree of personal discomfort, you can translate the apparent hardship into a form of positive evidence of progress. You wouldn’t be feeling uncomfortable unless you were stepping out of your comfort zone.

This is a major key to all efforts towards growth and personal development. This willingness to experience discomfort is a powerful asset to engage on behalf of your goals and ambitions.??

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you do not belong.

-??????N. R. Narayana Murthy

We could even suggest that the hardest conclusion is to recognise that what you’ve been doing is simply not effective. That the way you’ve approached your challenges was not sufficient to overcome them. That you need to revise your actions and your behaviour in order to develop new strategies for success.

Putting it brutally, if you’re not achieving your goals, it’s time to examine what you need to change.

The change could involve the way you think, the way you feel, your choice of priorities, the way you’ve avoided uncomfortable but necessary tasks, the way you prioritise your work and whatever else you can identify as a weakness in the way you’ve approached your strategy for success. The answer usually involves an area where you don’t feel comfortable. That’s why you’ve avoided it. In practice, however, the change almost always turns out to be much easier than you anticipated.

It seems that it’s the prospect of change that fills us with dread rather than the change itself.

That’s an intriguing insight because we can now appreciate that the real problem is rooted in our fears and imagination rather than in the practicality of the real world. So, if you’re ready to accept full responsibility for your life and your current circumstances, this is the ideal moment for you to review your status and identify exactly and clearly whatever isn’t working for you. These are the areas that require your attention. These are the areas crying out for change.

Think about the benefits, the rewards and the advantages of succeeding. Imagine how great you’ll feel when you achieve your goals. Give yourself credit for having the strength and courage to experience discomfort in order to reap the benefits of meaningful change in your life. Accept with pride that you’re one of the rare individuals in this world who possesses the courage and the willpower to embrace change in the face of fears, doubts and discomfort. This ability is the key to achieving remarkable results. The individual who is capable of changing and adapting will survive, succeed and prosper.

Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable.

-??????William Pollard

Join us today to discover the growing global movement for personal growth, success, change and empowerment.

Greg Parry created The Wellness Foundation and the Cognitive Empowerment Programs specifically to help people master their stress, overcome their limitations and explore the power of their true potential.

You can contact Greg at:

[email protected]