Managing Constant Change
Throughout life, although managing change is constant, it’s one of the hardest things for people to move through and adapt. It’s also how we grow, become more resilient and develop confidence throughout life. We’ve seen an abundance of change on a collective level in recent years as the entire world has been adapting to continuous shifts through the global pandemic.
A great deal of fear emerged collectively. When we are faced with uncertainty as a human race, unable to predict the things we’ve been able to expect in the past, fear infiltrates our thinking.
When things are unpredictable, it’s human to revert to survival mode. These patterns include the fight, flight and appease response, and they hold us back and often keep us stuck unless we learn to break out of the pattern.
The mind is very complex and at times, misleading and contradictory. It wants to grow and is consistently looking for new information to learn and yet, at the same time, it wants to remain the same. When we learn to control our minds and not allow our minds to control us, we’re able to respond to uncertainty instead of reacting. We have the power to stay curious. We have the power to choose to slow things down to create more time and space instead of reacting, which leads to irrational decisions.
If you cannot flow with the constant change that is an unavoidable part of our lives, you will experience extreme discomfort. Humans were designed to adapt and pivot during change. It’s how we continue to grow.
Leadership is full of changes. How can we flow with these changes and stay anchored and at our best, moving forward instead of getting stuck?
The best research now shows that consistent daily meditation and mindfulness practices support you and your mind to respond and not react in the face of the changes you manage every day.
Looking for more solutions? Here’s my recommended reading for additional tools to help you adapt each day:
Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body, by Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson
The Surrender Experiment, by Michael A. Singer
Moment of Introspection & Leadership:
Take a moment to think about the last time you were forced to make a change you weren’t prepared for – what were the emotions it brought up? Looking back now, is there something that could have better prepared you for that change, such as a tool or a mindset?
People react and respond to change in different ways: some become excited at the prospect of something new, others feel anxious or frustrated. The key is to notice how you react and reflect on that to understand your relationship to self and change. This results in moving through unexpected change with more grace and ease, building resilience in the process.
Reflection is a key part of journaling, a practice that is proven to support you through change. Bringing your thoughts, feelings and words in front of you results in greater clarity, reduced stress and helps with decision making.
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
— Dr. Wayne Dyer
REFLECTIVE & DISCOVERY QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHTS & JOURNALING
When was the last time you took a risk and felt happy with the outcome?
If you could change one thing right now in your life, what would it be and why?
FOR YOUR TEAM DAILY HUDDLE
How could we plan best for an unexpected change in our day today?
Use these tools to break out of the patterns of fight, flight and appease, and move into managing change with greater ease and grace.