“The actual impact of the change on you is directly related to how you react to the change.”

People, organisations, and countries that do not embrace change over time become irrelevant and unable to navigate the evolving environment. Take the introduction of mobile phones as an example. Some persons were reluctant, at the start, to acquire mobile phones but now it is almost impossible to live without a mobile phone – a tool for communication, photography, banking, music, and other critical modern needs.

Change happens all the time – so how do you cope with it?

The first step is to accept and recognise that change is going to happen, whether you embrace it or not. You then need to determine, from a personal stance, what it means for you and how you will cope and survive if you reject the change. The reality is that change happens first at the cognitive level, when you recognise and acknowledge that it is happening.

The next thing you can do is to investigate and enhance your understanding of the change, through reading, questioning, and attending sessions which speak about the change. Once you understand the change, you can then determine how to prepare for the change by identifying what actions you can take on a daily or weekly basis. After preparation, you take the actions you identified to support you in living and learning through the change.

Finally, you need to commit, on an ongoing basis to continuous behaviour change, so that you can thrive in the new environment and accept that it is going to change again and again.
Change is hard, but it’s worth it!