Embracing Change

A friend and I were enjoying a beer together yesterday, cogitating over what it is that makes some people so much more successful than others.

He said something interesting that sparked off a number of thoughts:

“Some people walk through life with their heads down, deliberately remaining oblivious to the changes happening around them. Others walk with their heads up, eyes constantly scanning the environment.”

His words took me back to my corporate days as a marketing manager and my - rather traumatic - experiences with trying to effect needed change. I was instantly reminded of the quotation that I had once framed and hung on the wall of my office as a powerful motivation not to give up when the going got tough:

“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage, than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institutions and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would gain by the new ones.”

You might be inclined to think that this originated from some corporate consulting guru like Tom Peters – right?

Wrong. This quotation is attributable to a gentleman called Macciavelli, who wrote it way back in 1513!

The more things change the more they stay the same eh… certainly in so far as people react to change. It seems that it is very much a part of human nature to resist change, in favour of preserving the status quo.

Neil Asher, in the New Insights Life Coach training programme, explains this phenomenon, saying that we are all programmed to pursue pleasure and to avoid pain. Everything we do or don’t do is motivated by one of these two primary drivers.

And the avoidance of pain is, for most, a stronger driver than the pursuit pleasure. So when we are confronted with change our automatic, inbuilt response is to avoid anything that we perceive might cause us ‘pain’ – whether that pain be in the form of embarrassment, loss of face, financial loss, failure, physical discomfort, others poking fun at us, or whatever!

Think for a minute of the last time you were confronted with the possibility of a significant change in your life. (Being presented with an opportunity is an important form of potential change).

If you’re like most people you probably went straight into ‘worst fears’ mode, thinking of all the possible sources of ‘pain’ that could possibly arise from going ahead and making the change.

If, like most, you were also ill equipped to deal with this response, you would probably end up shunning the change – and perhaps what might have been a golden opportunity – just because of your perceived risk of experiencing ‘pain’.

And that is precisely why more than 90% of people go through life ‘ploughing the same old furrow’ or sticking to tried and trusted routines, never daring to raise their heads and look around them to gaze on the plethora of wonderful opportunities that this vibrant Universe has to offer.

If only people could mostly see mostly the potential pleasure - not the potential pain – inherent in change.

So, can we learn to adapt our response to change such that we are able to focus on the positives, and trust our inner voice, rather than our perceived fears, in deciding whether to take an opportunity or make a big change?

Yes, Yes and YES again!

The New Insights Life Coaching programme teaches people how to deal effectively with the ‘perceived pain’ response, to listen to their inner voice and to take actions and respond to opportunities that will propel them along their journey to achieve their life purpose.

If you feel a calling to help free others from their limiting beliefs, give them the confidence to help them step out of the furrow they’ve been ploughing, and pursue a life of self growth – all while experiencing your own phenomenal personal growth - then consider training with New Insights, in your own time and at your own pace, to become a well respected life coach.

Till next time...

With much warmth

Bill Burridge

New Insights Africa Life Coaching Skills Training - Putting an Extraordinary Business within reach of Passionate People.

If you think you are Life Coaching material why not study, at your own pace and in your own time, with New Insights Africa? Visit our website.
https://www.Life-Coach-Training-SA.com