Change Happens: How to Accept, Navigate and Master Change

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Not only do we live in a time of unprecedented change, but thechanges we’re experiencing are happening at a faster and fasterrate.
The telephone, radio and TV took decades to be placed intocommon use.... Not only do we live in a time of unprecedented change, but thechanges we’re experiencing are happening at a faster and fasterrate.
The telephone, radio and TV took decades to be placed intocommon use. Now the time it takes from invention to widespreadusage is just a few years sometimes months!Our lives are significantly unlike that of our parents’.
Wethink differently, act differently, travel differently, and wework differently. Virtually everything about how we interactwith the world around us has changed in just one generation.We’re bombarded with new ideas, new systems, new jobs, newtechnologies and new opportunities.
The more we learn, the morewe realize how small our personal store of knowledge is incomparison to the vast universe of data. Most of the change we’re experiencing is appreciated.
We likemost of what we see happening. While we enjoy many of thesechanges, there are other changes that are not so warmlyembraced.
There’s more uncertainty, less confidence and as aresult more stress.I’m a recreational sailor. There’s hardly anything I enjoy morethan being out on the water with the wind in my sails.
Sailinghas taught me many things. Not the least of which is a healthyrespect for the wind.
You have absolutely no control over thewind only the way you use it. You must master your ability tohandle the wind, regardless how hard it blows or which directionit blows.And change is like the wind.
It’s neither good nor bad. It justis.
But how we feel about change our attitudes toward it will havemuch to do with how well we navigate this turbulent sea ofchange. If we dislike change, resist it, ignore it or resent it,we will lose.On the other hand, if we use it to our advantage, we’ll benefitfrom it.What’s your attitude toward change? What are your beliefs aboutthe change we see around us and the change that surely liesahead? When faced with something new and different, do you longfor the old way or do you look for what advantages this maybring to you, your family, your business.Your answer may be different based upon the type of change youface.Choice or no choiceIf the new situation is to your liking or a result of your ownchoosing, you will likely have a different reaction than if thechange seems forced upon you a new responsibility at work, ashopping mall going in next door or your spouse telling you theywant a divorce.On the other hand, the more power you feel you have over a givensituation, the easier it is to handle.Recognize changeAuthor Phillip McGrath is fond of saying and he’s right, "Youcannot change what you don’t acknowledge." Oftentimes we’re slowto realize or even fail to recognize changes that occur.
We needto look at what’s happening and acknowledge what we need tochange in ourselves in order to adapt to the changes around us.Which brings us to one of the first steps in dealing with change. .
.How will this change affect me?Too often, people resist change before allowing themselves toexplore its potential benefits. Make a sincere effort to look for the good in what appears to bechanging.
Because of a natural resistance to the unknown, wemust consciously and logically analyze what this difference willmean to us. And it’s often not what we first perceive.How can I exploit this change? Many fortunes have been made by taking swift advantage ofchanges and trends before others have realized how to do so.A change that alters the rules means opportunity only if you’reable to see the new connections and exploit them.If after thoroughly exploring the potential good, we see thechange as negatively impacting us, we must then ask the nextquestion .
. .Is there anything I can do about this? There’s no question that some change runs counter to our bestinterests.
If this is the case, we need to find out if we canchange the circumstances. This is no time to play victim.
Oftenwhat LOOKS like a situation totally outside of our control canin fact be altered.If we can't change the circumstances, then ask . .
.How can I minimize the impact of this change? First we must accept it. There’s no payoff to being upset aboutit.
If your destination is LA and you find yourself in SanFrancisco due to bad weather or mechanical difficulties, beingangry about it will not get you to LA. In fact it will hinderyou.By accepting the reality of the situation, we can then changeour strategies.
We can take a new tack. We can change sails.
Wecan set a new course.Only when we accept the change can we make rational, informedand effective decisions. Only then can we use our knowledge andskills to adjust to the changing winds and arrive at ourintended destination.Now is the time for green-light thinking.
Now is the time toattack the problem with our intellect, to get the help we need,to do whatever it takes to adjust to this change.In all of these steps, we need to be creative. As paradigmsshift, as new systems go into place and new technologies evolve,we must be open to how this changes the setup as we knew it.Our success is largely dependent upon our acceptance andresponse to the change that takes place around us.
Extinctionsoccur as a result of an inability to change. To change is oftendifficult, but to not change may prove fatal.Those who will thrive in the new millennium will be those whohave positive attitudes toward change.
Those who don’t will beleft behind, or worse yet, they will founder. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com.