Change
Let’s get straight to the point: I’m one of the people for which change is scary. One minute things are the way they always have been. Comfortable. Routine. You get up, you get your coffee, maybe grab a bagel or some toast. Commute to wherever you work, and get on with your day. Come home, eat, relax, and go to sleep. Tomorrow, you do the same thing. Routines are easy. You know what’s coming next, what you have to do, and how to handle it. It’s only when something changes that you notice just how much time has passed in your routine.
I painted my house last week. No, not a room. The whole interior of my house. With 5 different colors. I moved in back in February with the intention of doing that right after we were unpacked. And now it’s August, so you see how well that went. Once the big change had happened—moving—we went back to our routine. Things became normal and easy again. And the additional change of painting my house went onto the back burner. I didn’t want to deal with the paint and the rollers and all the stuff that came with the change. It was hard to get started, messy, and even when you’re “done,” you still have to clean everything up. But now that it’s done? I’m that much more in love with my house, and it feels like that much more of a home. And I wish I hadn’t waited almost 6 months to do it.
One of my favorite authors, Douglas Adams, said the above about technology inventions in his book The Salmon of Doubt. I feel the same is true for the idea of change and how we react to it, no matter our age. Change is one of those things that is a constant, but it doesn’t feel like it.
The gradual change isn’t the one at which we balk… it’s the rapid, monumental changes. Your favorite TV series introduces new major characters mid-season. You get moved into a new role at your job. Your business gets featured in a major magazine. Whether it’s good or bad, it’s change and you have to react to it. Pull yourself from your routine and handle the ripples that come with the catalyst. But in the end, you can’t even imagine the TV series before the new characters. Your new role is challenging and offers more growth opportunities. You get noticed and your business grows.
Things will change. They always do. If things never changed, we wouldn’t have the things we do today. No electric cars, no smart phones, no Internet (meaning, not having your business as it is today). So, I encourage you to look at change with a welcoming view. It’ll be worth it; even if it is a little scary at first. Different isn’t bad. It’s just… change. ;)