Life Changes..........

 



“Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.  But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it.  Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.”  ~Shunryu Suzuki



As a person that deals professionally with “change” I understand that things move along in life and there will always be a certain type of cycle. We embark on a new adventure every now and then no matter what are plans are. Change happens on different levels in our lives. It may be personal, professional, academic or even spiritual.

What happens during a change?

The first thing that happens is a certain awareness of either what is coming or the need for what is to come. Changes come about sometimes through planning and oftentimes by chance. When we first become aware of the change a multitude of things may happen depending on our personality type.

We may feel fear, uncertainty, excitement, happiness, or even dread. For the gamut of emotions that lean toward the negative I believe the underlying cause is lack of information. Some may say it is fear… but fear only comes from lack of knowledge. The more we know the better we are able to deal with what is coming… we are more able to make quality decisions… and have a positive outcome.

I feel that at this moment my life seems to be changing on more than one level. What do I feel? Some fear, anxiety, excitement and mostly just overwhelmed. This happens when we are saturated with change. Change saturation can happen both in organizations as well as in our personal lives.

What can we do about these feelings? How can we overcome our fear and take that bold step into a new and different way of doing something, believing something or even living a different way?

I say we use logic. We step back and take a look at facts, and follow through the possible outcomes of each change we are contemplating.

Questions we can ask ourselves:

Ø  What do I know?

Ø  What don’t I know?

Ø  Where can I get information?

Ø  What are the possible options?

Ø  What is the best case scenario?

Ø  What is the worst case scenario?

Ø  Can I live with/through worst or best case scenario?

Ø  Are there mitigation plans I can develop to lessen negative impacts?

Ø  What can I do to take control of the situation?

Ø  What do I need to let go of that I can’t control?

If we can follow it through the chances are very good that we will reach the conclusion that not only can we live through this, we have the potential to grow.

Next time you are faced with a change… ask yourself the above questions. Write them down, think about it, and then most importantly make a commitment to the change.

Humans are built for change. It is a natural dynamic in our lives. It is our own mind which we must overcome if we are to embrace what will ultimately help us to enhance our human experience.