In general, people fear change and we sometimes agonize about our competency to face and conquer the new. When we are confronted by change, at work, home or any dimension in our lives, there are two choices. These are:
- Change resistance
In this case change of any kind may prevent us from embracing it. Change can be threatening, no matter how positive the potential change might be. The reason for this is that we are forced to face the unknown and this elicits doubt in our own competencies. Questions that arise are ”Will I be able to cope?”, “Am I good enough for the new job?” etc. The challenge is to embrace the change, even if it is difficult. This how we literally stretch our wings and expand our abilities and opportunities.Exercise
What are difficult challenges you have faced before and were reluctant to embrace?
How did you fare in terms of overcoming your fears and what were the results?
- Change resilience
Here you tolerate change and do not fear it. You see it as new opportunities to make progress and gain success. You are confident that you can manage the process. Change resilience is asking creative questions like “How might I?…”, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if…?” These are ways of asking questions which stimulate our creativity and reach excellent solutions for problems. Phrasing a question like “I have a problem…”places the emphasis on the difficulty of the challenge rather than the possibility of a solution.Exercise
Write down a problem you have experienced and which route did you follow to find an answer?
