Change, what the????

Last week I wrote about improving your confidence in people and in the company you work for. I received a comment in regard to my dealing with the issue of change. I must admit I had to go back and read my last post to be sure I even mentioned the issue of change. And, that comment got me thinking more deeply about change and how it affects our lives.




Change affects us all both professionally and personally. It creates stress in our lives and it never seems good, especially at first. It is always scary, it inevitably creates anxiety. Jobs being outsourced, divorce, marriage, debt, wealth, a new baby, a death in the family...and these are just the major changes we face on a regular basis. We try to control our world and keep it constant and unchanging but that just makes things worse the harder we hold to the way things used to be the more backward, and upside down we become. This week I hope to shine some light on how we process change, how it affects each and every one of us internally and how we can manage our selves and be at peace in an ever changing world.

Each of us, as we encounter changes in our lives, processes change through a series of stages. these stages are as follows:

1. Denial


2. Frustration and anger


3. Negotiation and bargaining


4. Depression


5. Acceptance


6. Experimentation


7. Discovery and delight


8. Integration

The battle with change is nearly won when we realize that this is how each of us processes change. Sure some people may skip steps, and each of us is going to have our own take on this process but generally, each of us experiences this process any time there is a major change in our lives.

We win the final victory when we realize that we control the process. That's right you do have a choice!!! You don't have to bury your head in the sand in denial, You don't have to get angry or try to bargain your way back to the old way of doing things, and you certainly don't have to get depressed. You can accept the change or even better you can aggressively and proactively pursue the discovery process and who knows as you learn about the change you may begin to be happy about it and integrate it into your life for a better tomorrow.

Remember no one controls your mental attitude but you. If you relinquish that control you relinquish the only power you will ever really have in this life and that is the power to control your self. Keep this in mind this week as you face change weather at work or at home and remember, you have the power!!!

Andy Peterson, signing off.