With the events of the last fortnight in the UK, it’s got me thinking a lot about our relationship with change.
A change in head of our government and a change in the head of our monarchy are two pretty seismic events to happen in the space of just two short days!
And so we’ve had a lot to take on board in addition to all the other immediate day to day stressors of our lives, especially the ones driven by rising inflation and rampant energy costs.
Change isn’t just something we do differently (e.g process, mission or strategy), or something that we can see is different (e.g. structure).
Change is an experience we go through, and so change has a psychological impact, and possibly even an emotional impact on us.
Whether it’s losing the nation’s grandmother or a member of your own family, getting a new boss or a new job or losing your job, moving to a different street, town or country, or someone joining or leaving the team at work, it impacts us.
It makes us think differently and feel differently.
We could feel sad, angry, tired, nervous, or scared.
We could feel happy, elated or energised.
We could think more positively or more negatively.
It’s easy to get swept away be the emotion of it all.
We tend to prefer change we feel we have some control over, like buying a new home. Change that happens outside of our control can feel unnerving, even overwhelming.
We have to build a whole new relationship with whatever the result of the change is. And that can feel daunting.
Some people will resist change to maintain stability, comfort and an element of certainty in their lives. We prefer what we know to what we don’t yet know. It feels edgy and even threatening to go into the unknown.
But without change, we would stagnate. As an individual, a society, a nation, a planet.
Once the emotions are calmed, we can see that change brings new opportunity, fresh and diverse ideas, progress. New ways of doing, new ways of being.
One thing we can be sure of: change is certain and inevitable.
We can be certain that nothing will stay the same, that life will not stand still, that we will need to adapt, learn and grow along the way, and adjust to changes around us, both planned and unplanned.
Life is about change. Change is about living.
