By Jack Perry
Change is a constant, unavoidable part of life. Think about all the changes you’ve made in your life. Did you change schools as a child? Have you ever moved to another city? Do you often change your lunch spot? Changes can be as major and life-altering as an illness or a death of a loved one, or they can be as small and routine as switching breakfast cereals
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The need to change often comes from inside. Something might awaken your desire to change. The need to be closer to family prompts you to change jobs and relocate. Change can also come from an outside source. Your company might downsize, forcing you to change careers.
Regardless of where the need comes from, you must understand that changes bring different results. If you are unhappy or unsatisfied with your life, then you must choose to changes in your life to make your situation better. Whether you want a better career, a more successful business, or better physical health, the first step toward improvement is making changes and looking for better ways to accomplish things.
How can you use change to improve your life? Consider the following five approaches.
1. Open Your Mind to New Possibilities
People often see the unknown as negative and frightening; therefore, one of the biggest challenges to change is its unpredictable nature. No one knows for sure what will happen if you initiate change in your life by quitting your job, moving to a new city, or getting married. And no one knows what will happen if your life is changed unexpectedly by outside forces, such as a promotion to new and challenging opportunity, a family member becomes ill and needs you time and attention. You might end up miserable, or, on the other hand, you might be thankful for opportunity…it is all in how you choose to live the experience.
The important thing to realize is that change offers possibilities. But it also requires flexibility: establishing new methods, acquiring new knowledge, and working with new people. How do you survive and thrive successfully in all these changes? You need vision to open your mind and see other possibilities besides just the negative ones.
2. Consider What’s Most Important to You
Avoiding change is often easier than risking criticism or failure. But just because change is uncomfortable doesn’t make it a bad decision. If you hate your corporate job, you might avoid changing careers because some people might criticize the decision. But if leaving your corporate job (and salary) to start a dog-walking business makes you happy, then the switch can’t be a bad idea.
You have to look at what you value most in life and base your decisions on these factors, regardless of what changes need to happen. Live where you want to live and do what you want to do because you can, and greater satisfaction in life is surely worth a little criticism in the long run.
3. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Regardless of the challenge, the right person doing it the right way will get it done. So when it comes to your success, ask yourself what you have to change to become that right person. Do you need to exercise more to get a smaller waistline? Do you need to move to another state to get a higher paying job? To get what ou want, you have to change to get it, but that means getting out of your comfort zone. Seek a new and challenging arena.
Sure, more exercise means less time on the couch. And moving out of state means leaving the neighborhood you’ve lived in for years. But change is a part of success. If you want to get above and beyond your current status, then you need to vacate your comfort zone.
4. Approach Change with Confidence
Change favors the prepared mind. You can’t fight change, because if you swim upstream, you’ll eventually drown. You can approach change with confidence. How can you build your confidence? Ask for outside advice from a coach or a class or a book. You can even pray for courage. But to build your confidence, approach each change in baby steps. You need to take short term pain to gain in the long term.
You also need to communicate your confidence in the face of change. As an example, if you panic when you are faced with a major change in your career what message does that send to your family? And if technological advances alter the way your clients do business, resist the temptation to stick with your old methods. Many times, change can attack the habits of your business culture. It can hurt people’s pride and they can react with stubborn arrogance. But no one is above change. Keep in mind, change is a part of life. Confidently adapting to change shows your flexibility as a person and as a business leader.
5. Lead through Change by Example
If you want to make changes in your business, your social circle, or your family, you must lead by example. Change is uncomfortable when it feels imposed. No one will change if you, the leader, don’t change as well.
If you want your family to start eating healthier foods, then you must make nutritious choices to model the desired behavior. Otherwise your kids might eat junk food as a form of rebellion. And if you want to change the break policy at work, then you need to follow the new rules along with everyone else. Otherwise, no one will see the change as positive. They will see it as imposed control. For a change to be evident, you have to be that change yourself. It comes from within you.
Positive Change for Your Future
Change is powerful drug. It can be a cure or a disease, depending on how you look at it. If you avoid change and criticize new ideas, then your life and career will remain exactly where they are today, or they’ll even fall behind. If you embrace change with vision, enthusiasm and confidence, you can reach new and exciting levels of success throughout all areas of your life.
Change from The Respect Factor® Series
THE RESPECT FACTOR® is a trademark of Jack Perry in the United States and other countries. Used with permission. ©2009 Jack Perry. All rights reserved.
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