Life isn’t static; the one thing you can count on is change. But change can appear as a refreshing stimulant or a disruption of our peace and harmony.
Hence most people fear change. It forces you to venture into the unknown. All your knowledge, tried and tested formulas, opinions and concepts suddenly fall short of the situation at hand.
So most people try to avoid change or rather they try to make their life ‘change proof’. They become static. They continue at the same job, persist at unhealthy relationships, habits, and experiences even at the risk of limiting their potential and negating life.
But life has a way of disrupting the best-laid plans and sooner or later you are flung into the whirlwind of change. More so in the current context.
Our age is marked by accelerated human evolution. New patterns are replacing old ones very rapidly. Consider how the Internet and other technologies have revolutionized the way you communicate and do business, or how the events of 9/11 have altered your perception of the world.
Today no one can remain immune to change. According to a recent Forbes article on, ‘Is Strategy dead’ by Rick Smith, average life expectancy of a Fortune 500 company has dropped from more than 80 years to less than 15 in the last century. Consumer behaviour has undergone unprecedented change. Babies today leave the hospital with a blanket, an iPhone, a Facebook page, and a Twitter TWTR +1.48% handle.
While the industrial revolution was all about the business to people narrative, the dawn of the social media era has now shifted the focus to people-to-people context with communities, collaboration, and co-creation being the new buzzwords.
A report on evolution of technology and the human race by Karl Fisch, Scott Mcleod and Jeff Brenman, the top 10 in demand jobs in 2010 did not even exist in 2004.
To put it bluntly, we have to continuously learn and relearn in order to remain relevant. Long-term strategy has given way to “just-in-time” decision-making.
But on the other hand this change has also created a whole new platform for human capability to flourish. For confident people, resourceful people, change spells opportunity. They’re willing to venture out of their comfort zones to embrace change and use it to their advantage, the examples of Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page being case in point.
Change becomes exciting when you choose it yourself. Then it’s not an unwelcome threat but a welcome adventure.
Chosen change bolsters your resilience. It enables you to adjust to new circumstances and bounce back from adverse developments.
You’ll find change easier to handle if you arm yourself with a positive attitude and involve yourself in a strong and supportive social network.
Change, if viewed as a positive step toward growth and opportunity, can invite balance and infuse vitality, aliveness and zest in your life. But change, if mishandled, can result in imbalance
So how do we leverage all this movement, this change to our advantage rather than allowing it to sweep away all that is valuable to us.
Here are some things you can do to respond constructively to change:
become adaptable.
Embrace change. View it as an opportunity for growth.
Anticipate change.
Use your repositories of problem-solving and coping strategies when faced with changes in your life.
Use major crises to create breakthroughs.
Engage in lifelong learning to stay abreast of change.
Keep your principles intact despite change.
Use change to break bad patterns.
Grow from your experiences of changing circumstances.
Realize the rewards that come with change.
Connect with our spirituality.
This is the time to plunge into the vortex of change, our change, the one we create as we speak.