September 27, 2019

Why Embracing Change is Easier Said Than Done

Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people…or find a different room. In professional circles it’s called networking. In organizations it’s called team building. And in life it’s called family, friends, and community. We are all gifts to each other, and my own growth as a leader has shown me again and again that the most rewarding experiences come from my relationships." - Michael Dell, 2003.
 
Well two weeks ago I found that other room. It was at an 3 day seminar hosted by Luka Hocevar in Seattle, Washington called the Vigor Ground Fitness and Business Summit. Here some of the top names in the fitness industry dropped major knowledge on how they became successful and lots of ways for us to make changes to also become more successful.There was tons of talk about change and how to implement this change, and I would be lying if I told you I wasn't a little freaked out by thinking about all of this change! A lot of these things would be taking me way out of my comfort zone and really putting my self out there.So how do I find the motivation or courage or whatever you want to call it to get over my fear of change or fear of being judged and pull the trigger? 
 
 
There was a saying Alwyn Cosgrove brought to light. In his talk at the summit. He talked about the countless times he took on a task or job without knowing where it would lead but give it his best effort and almost every time this would lead to a better opportunity. We've all heard some sort of version of this before right? Give your best no matter what you do. However why is it we are so reluctant to pull the trigger on things? The reason is much more primitive than you think. The short version of why we are so hesitant to change is that our brains seek and crave things to stay the same. Here our brain feels safe, there are no unknowns no threats. Imagine walking down the street, you come to a construction site and need to change your route. By scanning around the area you should be able to find a detour and follow it to get where you want to go. In theory, this situation shouldn't cause any stress but our brains offer a number of special quirks that cause us to see things differently. Because we've taken the normal path before, we don't worry that it'll take us where we want to go. When we run into a roadblock, suddenly information we trusted has broken down. Where does the other road lead? How long will it take? Is it dangerous? What we don't know tends to scare us, and change creates a lot of things we don't know. As a result, we tend to act pretty irrationally to try and prevent change, often without realizing it, and make our lives unnecessarily problematic.

​​SMXLL

 

 

So how do we get over this fear and start making changes and start the hard work that will lead to opportunity? Your brain likes information it knows and understands and doesn't like what it doesn't know. If your brain experiences enough change in a variety of ways, it'll allow you to operate with the understanding that change is something you can survive and even benefit from. You won't fear it so much because the information stored in your head provides evidence that fear is unnecessary. Of course, getting to this point is easier said than done.

​​SMXLL

One simple and easy way to cope with change is to allow yourself to freak out. Freak out on your own time then once you have done that, consider the upside to the change you are wanting to make and keep reiterating that everything is going to be ok. Even more, think about the kind of person you will be when you make this change, think about how you will feel, how you will walk differently, talk differently. These future feelings can really kick start a wanted change. The more you can visualize your future self and make it as real and detailed as possible only further pushes yourself to make the change. YOU CAN DO THIS!

​​SMXLL

 

I hope this short article can help give you the motivation to make a needed change! Whether it is with a relationship, a health, or lifestyle change, you can do it! One last thing I learned at the summit, was to move quickly. Sometimes it's not a bad thing to make a change before thinking. It can be a pro to get out of your own head and just take action!

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