April 1, 2014

The Challenge of Change


Courtesy of www.fresheggs.com
I find it interesting that so many of us battle with the concept of change when each and every one of us are changing daily. My mother, who is a very young 67, is one of the most amazing women I have been lucky enough to know. She immigrated to the US when she was barely 19, alone and with very little money or understanding of American culture. Over her life she has independently raised children, had multiple careers and has taken in her fair share of the needy, but through it all she continues to thrive. She may be my best example of how embracing change is the way to go.

It’s All About Attitude
Over the past few years my mother's eyesight has been deteriorating. This has been going on for the past 3-4 years, but it had gotten very bad in the last few months. Though very difficult at first, she accepted the changes happening with her body and kept moving forward with her life; when most of her peers are retiring, she is starting a new business!

Recently she saw her doctor only to find out she had a cataract on her eye. The doctor performed surgery and within 24 hours she was seeing better than she had in 30 years. Change is all around us- at times it is good and other times it is challenging, but it always is happening. The change my mother experienced is probably one of the most frightening things that can happen to a person.  My mother’s story shows both the good and bad sides of change, the only thing that remained constant was her attitude about it. When her body started to change in a way she didn't like and could not control she could have crawled into a corner, but she embraced the changes and continued to move forward.

Is Fear Your Guide?
As a customer service and service excellence trainer, a significant portion of my time is spent working with people to change their behaviors. Obviously no small feat- in many cases their current behaviors are preventing them from experiencing better work relationships, better relationships with their customers/patients and a happier overall life. But fear holds them back—the saying I hear a lot is “stick with the devil you know.” I reject that! Why stick with the devil at all?

When we embrace the idea of continuous improvement and change, we really open so many opportunities for ourselves. I tell people all the time, it’s about the experience. The outcome may not be what you intended, but you grow from the experience. Every experience makes us a little wiser, stronger and brings us closer to the things we want (or at least the knowledge of what we don’t want). We give ourselves a chance to learn new things, develop new skills, and grow into our best possible self.  I know that might not be a conscious goal for everyone, but if we took a moment and really thought about it, isn't that what we really want, to be our best self? It’s why we exercise, try to eat right, go to college, read books, and learn new skills. Deep down I think we all want to be the best versions of ourselves.

We Must Hatch or Go Bad
I love this quote from C.S. Lewis “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”

No one says change is easy, but it's happening every day. Imagine what we would accomplish with a little effort. We must hatch or we go bad; it’s the nature of the world, if we aren't evolving we are dying. Embrace the idea of change, it is the only way we will get closer to being our best self.

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