Understanding change: What helps us move forward?

We all have our own approach to and understanding of change. For some, change is essential and one of the defining characteristics of life. For others, change means forgetting the old and forcing new ideas. For some, it is painful and something to be avoided for fear of failing.

For us to grow and conceive new ideas, change needs to happen. As humans, we can feel secure in our comfort zones, where we feel safe from the unknown, because the unknown may bring fear. However, we also possess the ability to push past that fear. If this were not true, we might still be stuck in caves, never having explored the beauty of the world around us.

To explore what is possible, it can help to understand our feelings about change and how we find comfort in defining our boundaries. These boundaries are not inherently wrong; they can help us feel safe and protect us from danger. However, they can become unhelpful when they unnecessarily limit our possibilities.

For some, this becomes a fear of failure: a fear that we might let someone else down or not be good enough. It can create the belief that failure should always be avoided, despite the fact that mistakes and setbacks can offer valuable opportunities to learn and grow.

For the process of change to happen, both the person and their environment matter. We may be less likely to accept change if it is forced upon us or feels like a choice someone else is making. If you believe that the change is right for you, you may be more likely to engage with it.

Think of a time at work when your manager insisted that you do something you did not want to do. You may have completed the task, but you were not necessarily committed to it.

“People don’t resist change. They resist being changed.”

– often attributed to Peter Senge

We often learn from a young age that action is followed by reward. For example, “I will tidy my room, and my parents will let me play video games.” With this idea in mind, why would we implement change if we could see no benefit?

External rewards can motivate us, but they are not the only source of motivation. The reward may instead be personal satisfaction, improved well-being or progress towards something that matters to us. This raises the question: Does an incentive always have to be something with material value?

Another thing to consider is the timeframe. How long do we want to take to implement the change? Often, the focus is on the task but not the time involved.

A good example is when people make New Year’s resolutions, such as giving up smoking or losing some weight. These resolutions may be abandoned because the timeframe is unrealistic, the goal has not been planned properly, or the person has not prepared for what the change will require.

The final thing to contemplate when it comes to change, and perhaps the thing that matters most, is why you want it. What is your purpose for making the change? What might you gain, and how do you expect to feel once you achieve it?

We can spend so much time focusing on how to begin and how we will reach the goal without thinking about what reaching it will mean to us. This can leave us feeling unfulfilled if the eventual achievement does not match our expectations.

I end this article with a question for you:

What change do you want in your life, and what are you willing to do to achieve it?