Research in support of my book “The 7 Keys to Change” taught me many things with none more important than this: 62% of respondents said, “Change is inevitable; you couldn’t stop it if you wanted to.” Good to think that way no matter how much you wish otherwise because, bottom line, those who don’t are in denial regarding what is arguably the single biggest impediment to living happy, productive lives. Here we look at the options you have when approaching change.
Three change options
Most people approach change in one of three ways;
- willingly going forward,
- attempting to stay where they are,
- trying to go back to where they once were.
Which option do you choose when approaching change? Trick question alert! They’re all the same with only semantic differences leaving but one, true option. Let me explain starting with the second option.
Stay where you are
Most who say they prefer nothing to change are, knowingly or not, referring to their particular circumstance. Let’s assume you could freeze “you” at a point in time. Why not, you control you, just hold you and where you are, constant, and that should do it, right? Wrong.
Your “particular circumstance” includes all happening around you. It’s changing whether you want it to or not and as it does you change too, again, whether you want to or not. Let’s say you’re happy with your life as is and would like to freeze it with no additional change, including your income, an amount you find acceptable. You will make no more and that’s ok with you . . . until you realize your income is soon too little given inflation. You froze a part of you but not the circumstances out of your control, in this example, the cost of living.
Maybe the third option?
Go back to where you once were
Who hasn’t looked back to a previous time and place wishing they were once again there?
You can do this, to a point.
- You can go back to where you grew up.
- Maybe you can rejoin a company you were once happy working for.
- You can rekindle a relationship you once enjoyed.
However, as with the above income example, little to nothing about that place, that company, that relationship, or you, will be as it once was. It’s all changed by the surrounding circumstance.
Which leads us to the only real option.
Go forward
Don’t fear this, everything changes all the time. Change is the only constant in our lives. Expect it, plan for it, embrace it; it is the only option you have when approaching change.
William Matthies founded Coyote Insight in 2000 to help start-ups as well as established companies and brands plan for profitable growth.
In 1986 he founded what was to become the largest independent market research/database marketing company in the consumer electronics and high tech fields. By the time he sold The Verity Group in 1997, the company employed 400+ people at its California and Costa Rica offices.
Today he serves on corporate advisory boards lecturing frequently at industry events around the world on managing change, strategic planning, and customer relations.
William’s spare time is spent seeking out experiences that change his perspective, while at the same time having great fun. A few years ago, he visited Russia for a Mach 2.5 flight in a MiG 25 supersonic aircraft flying to 80,000 feet, the edge of space. Want details? Contact him, he’ll be happy to tell you about it!