Week 1: Change Is Disruptive

It’s hard to perceive change as a positive force in our lives when it’s so often not. Even the mention of change is enough to send some of us into full-fledged anxiety meltdowns. That’s thanks to the complexity of change, as well as a few of the hard-wired ideas we have about it that just seem to come with the human territory.

Whether it is the change that we choose to make in our lives, or it is the change that is being forced upon us by sudden turn of events, change is always disruptive.

Change leads to a ripple effect on people. The impact of any change is usually more than we anticipate, and it affects all of us.

To navigate through the uncertainty of change, the first step is identifying the roadblock in accepting change. We need to deal with the obstacle that is stopping us from realizing why change is necessary in the first place.

We all process change differently. While going through change, we go through cycles of transition similar to those of mourning.

First, we act in denial against things that are happening. Then, we move to the confusion and anger of what’s going on. Eventually, we accept how things are different and not in our control. We don’t go through these cycles all at once.

It is essential to understand where you and the people associated with you are in the change acceptance curve, in order to properly manage the relevant uncertainties.