Preparing for change: How to embrace new opportunities

As human beings, we are changing all the time. Change can be exciting, change can be scary, but we can't not change, as we are constantly making decisions every day that involve change.

I wrote this straight after having a massage. This, for me, was a change. After a year of setting up my new business, I made a conscious decision to take more care of my wellbeing. So when do we make changes? Perhaps when we realise that the negatives of remaining the same outweigh the positives of trying something new? The costs of ignoring tight muscles, in my instance, outweighed getting motivated to book a monthly massage.

There come times in everyone's life when we stop, take stock and decide that something has to change. It can be a small change that has a big impact or a big change that takes courage to make. This might involve, for example, relocating, starting a new business, beginning a new relationship, taking time out to go travelling, taking on a new contract or retraining.

Preparing for change

How do we reduce the fear or, as the saying goes, 'feel the fear and do it anyway'?

Often it can feel that change is just happening to us, but there are steps we can take to feel more in charge of it. We don't have a crystal ball, and hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it can help to think that we will look back at this moment in five years (like an Instagram picture) and realise that it was all part of a necessary process. It is an exciting time when there is something new on the horizon, and we start to do things differently.

Let's look at how we can smooth the process! I am going to focus on the 'preparation stage' of Prochaska and DiClemente's Stages of Change Model. After moving from the 'contemplation stage', where we weigh up the pros and cons and decide to commit to a new action, the purpose of the preparation stage is to enable us to start 'testing the waters'.

Testing the waters

There is a lovely expression: 'If you do what you did, you get what you got.'

You know you don't want to keep being in the same position; something needs to give, and now is the right time for it to happen. However, it is natural to put up some resistance, and we might find ways to resist! It can feel a bit like a push and pull. On the one hand, for example, life will look brighter if you set up your business or start that college course, but on the other hand, it will take energy, resources and effort!

Interestingly enough, the case for remaining the same will also have advantages and disadvantages.

At the preparation stage, you might start talking to others about how you are preparing to make a major change. This takes courage, as we might be thinking, "What if they think it's a bad idea?" Even contemplating it in our own heads can freak us out! However, the good news is that self-awareness can make change that much easier.

Planning for success

Human beings like quick rewards. We are often looking to have made the change already. But in reality, change is a process.

If we see it as a process and are compassionate towards ourselves, recognising that we are going through change and that it will take time, we don't have to justify getting quick results. We can take the time to prepare and explore the new opportunities.

Applying the preparation stage means you start plotting out your resources, the support available to you, a backup plan if things don't go as planned, and consider the relevant skills you are going to need. This might involve finding supportive friends, learning new skills and finding out more information.

When setting up my business, I prepared for change by reducing my regular contract and attending training to tip my coaching toe in the water, so to speak, and move towards the change I wanted to make.

Change is a journey

It is helpful to be conscious of the stages we are going through. Taking the time to consider change and see it as a process helps us to be compassionate towards ourselves, recognising that we will have fears and that we may need support, but that good preparation and planning will bring their own rewards.

This is only a small part of the change process, but I hope you enjoyed the article and were able to apply it to your current situation and reflect on the change process for yourself.