Love it or hate it – Change is everywhere!!!

Let’s face it, life is all about change. Whether you accept it or not, you cannot go through life without experiencing change in some or many formats. It can be debated that change ensures that bad situations end. For the most part this is true, but what change powerfully does is make a difference material, physical and/or emotional so that things are distinctly different from what they previously were. Change moves you in a new direction, whether you like it or not. 

While preparing to write this article, I really started to think what change means for me and lately I am a huge fan of anagrams so it is no surprise to me that my thinking led me to one. Change for me is:

·        Continuous – there is no expiry date for change, most of us are always looking for continuous improvements personally, professionally, financially and the list goes on. Making improvements means change.

·        Habits – making improvements in our lives or business quite frankly means breaking free from habits that are holding you back and introducing new habits that promote new and effective behavior and actions. New habits and getting rid of bad habits equals change.

·        Awareness – introducing change means that there is a strong awareness that improvements are needed.

·        Need – once you determine a need in any area of your life, does it not automatically mean change of some scale? You probably have to make changes in some area to fulfil that need, whether it is to spend less, get up earlier, start a course etc.

·        Growth – when I think of change, I immediately think of growth. Why would you introduce change if it doesn’t promote improvement, which in turn should lead to growth?

·        Embrace - embracing change allows you to adapt better to change and you will progress on to something bigger and better.

Put change into practice and you witness breakthroughs

However, if you reject change, experiences and opportunities are likely to pass you by. Change can be a lot harder when you resist and reject it. Accepting change makes dealing with it a lot easier. The more we deal with change, the more used to it we become and the easier it becomes to deal with it. In our planning process for either business or our personal lives, you need to factor in that change will happen that will put that plan off course. Let’s be honest here, who planned for a pandemic in 2020 that effected every household and business worldwide? If you stuck to your original plan and didn’t adapt, you suffered more than those that took change head on and adapted to the new environment that we were all faced with. I am confidently making the statement that change puts us all out of our comfort zone. However, change also promotes learning, transformation and survival. The last 12 months has proved that.

But nothing happens without a readiness to change.

It is also very fair to say that change causes fear, fear of the new as new brings uncertainty. I remember listening to a podcast a few years ago and the interviewer said people would rather be unhappy than uncertain. Is it fair to say that we also fear change because we fear that we might lose what's associated with that change?   We fear change because we are letting go of what is familiar but honestly familiar doesn’t always mean that it is the best for us. As I have said previously, change leads to improvement in the long run. We need to trust that the change process is for our better good. So rather than resisting change and trying to keep everything the same, the very best approach for you is to start embracing change, leaning into the process of discovery, growth, humor and healing that the challenge of life and business can bring; discovering the learning that each new situation brings to you; and allowing yourself to evolve and grow during the change process.