Never Fear Change Again

The dictionary defines change as: to make or become different.

Pretty simple definition, right?  So why is the reality of change so complex?  It’s complex because change can be so many things:

Change can be big—I’m getting married!
Change can be small—I’m rearranging the furniture.

Change can be exciting—I won the lottery!
Change can be scary—I lost my job!

Change can be chosen—You tell your partner you want a divorce.
Change can be forced—Your partner tells you they want a divorce.

Change can be external—Lose twenty pounds.
Change can be internal—We can change our minds, our thoughts and our beliefs.

My working definition of change is this: life.

Life is nothing but change. 

In fact, the ONLY thing you can count on in life is change.  Change will happen, change is happening, change will never stop happening.

Change is what really tests us as we progress through life. But, here is the thing: the point of life is change. It’s why we exist, to experience growth.

It is important to keep in mind that change is an event but managing change is a process.

And once you understand the process of change, you can apply the same process over and over again; no matter what the situation!

Big or small, exciting or scary, chosen or forced—you can manage the process of change.

And once you learn, understand and apply the process of change, not a lot scares you anymore because you know you have the process to rely on.

There are many processes out there for managing change, but in my personal experience, I found them hard to remember.  One of the most well known in the business world is Kotter’s 8 Step Process for Leading Change.

I had to memorize Kotter’s 8 Steps for a final exam while in business school. But a month after the exam, I couldn’t remember the steps. Because I couldn’t remember the steps, I also couldn’t apply them. 

In the end, I ended up creating my own process for managing change, called C.H.A.N.G.E.²

It’s a simple, easy way to remember and to implement the process of managing change. 

You can learn more about it here. Hopefully, over time as you practice applying the change process, you’ll never fear change again. You’ll simply embrace it as another opportunity to learn and grow.