“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”
Legendary Basketball Coach, John Wooden
There you are looking at your results, knowing once again, clearly you failed. The results are there staring at you, pointing their fingers at the failure sign above your head. What do you do? Once you have determined that something in your approach has to change, do you make the change? Probably not. If you are like me, you most likely try the same thing again, hoping you will have a different result.
What is it about change that we resist so much? I did some research. Lisa Quast, in Forbes, summarized it succinctly:
- Fear of the unknown/surprise
- Mistrust
- Loss of security/control
- Bad timing
- An individual’s predisposition
Bingo! If you have 3 out of 5 reasons residing in you, you resist change. So what are you going to do about it when you know that change is calling you?
I suggest that you do some work using the above 5 factors to be your guide. Set aside some time and grab some paper and begin to write down your answers.
Ask yourself:
- What am I afraid of?
- Am I surprised about the change required? And why?
- Who do I not trust about making the change? And why?
- What about this change makes me feel insecure and out of control?
- How does the timing of the change affect me and my business?
- How am I about change in general? Do I always resist change? Why is that?
Allow yourself time to reflect on the answers and you may be surprised by them. When you are honest with yourself, you can develop a strategy for the change that won’t be so jarring. You will feel in control, and you can plan the timing of the change. Who knows, you may even begin to like change.
I look forward to hearing your comments about this topic and what happened when you took a look at the change by answering the questions above.