by Marcus Straub

Change is a reality in business whether we want it or not.

  • Business environments and economies change.
  • Team dynamics change.
  • Technology changes rapidly.

 

Life in general is about change. If we resist change, we limit the potential of all that’s available to us professionally and personally.

Many people resist change because they must change as well. Others resist change because they focus on how difficult changes could be, the possible negative outcomes, and the fear of the unknown. We also become comfortable in our current positions, even if they don’t contribute to our happiness and success.

In our tendency to focus on the difficulties rather than the benefits of change, we prevent ourselves from exploring opportunities and taking action. We avoid change because we consider what we perceive as the downsides. This must be overcome with a more balanced perspective to experience increased happiness and success both professionally and personally.

Honest self-appraisal is vital in choosing to change. As you become aware of the negative feelings and undesirable results of your resistance to change, you can use that discomfort to move forward. Most of us reach a point where we can’t take it anymore. Being honest with yourself will help you reach this threshold sooner, saving precious time and resources in creating a reality you do find pleasing and rewarding.

If during your honest self-appraisal, you find you’re not pleased with the way things are going in your business or life, choose to change how you perceive change. By doing so, you better position yourself to take actions that will improve your situation and lead to happiness and success.

In my coaching and consulting work, I show people how their thoughts and behaviors work against what they want — how they’re actually working against themselves and the happiness and success they desire. I help them develop new thoughts and behaviors to change their reality in positive ways. We focus on the actual reasons for making a change, the process of change, and the benefits of doing so.

For example,

How about letting go of a team member who possesses the skills to do the job, but whose attitude and behavior damages corporate culture, customer relations, and the bottom line? If you or your team members walk into the business and feel an aversion to certain team members because of their negativity, change is in order. This situation is common in the business world and becomes more damaging the longer it’s allowed to continue.

Personnel changes are avoided because of the time, effort, and money involved in hiring and training new people. There’s also the fear of confrontation that can accompany letting someone go. That’s not to mention the fear of retribution, unemployment claims, or having former employees bad-mouth your business.

As you turn your attention from what at first appears to be the overwhelming effort involved in creating positive change to the benefits, you’ll face change with an energy that makes the effort feel a lot less daunting than originally feared. In other words, a major barrier to change is eliminated when you focus on how it will improve you and the situation.

Change is easier to make when we choose to see it in a positive light. In embracing change, we alter our perception of it from a bad thing to a good thing filled with potential and opportunity. People can accomplish great feats once they open their minds to the possibilities and then take action.

If your business has stalled or is failing, your health is declining or your relationships aren’t fulfilling, face the reality that your resistance to change is diminishing your happiness and success more and more each day. The next step is to make the needed changes.

 

Marcus Straub is Founder and CEO of Life Is Great!™ (LIG) Coaching and Consulting, Inc. based in Grand Junction, Colorado.

This article was written for and published in collaboration with The Business Times newspaper.