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Does Change Have to Be So Hard?

Courtesy of Joe Brodnicki from the Institute of Neuro-Semantics U.S.A

By: Joe Brodnicki ©2011

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why does change have to be so hard?” At work, managers and executives have big ideas that turn into just another fad of the month. At home, you try to lose weight or get in shape, and time and time again, you come up short and end up starting all over. And who wants to think about changing things in your community or at your church!

Yet, you know that the need to create powerful changes in business, society and even your life is greater now than it has ever been. Maybe you’re ready to think that change doesn’t have to be so hard when you have the personal skills and states-of-mind to lead and participate in the changes you want to see happen. If you are ready to make a difference, read on.

BREAKING DOWN THE IDEA OF CHANGE

We can probably agree that “change” is a broad term with many potential definitions. Let’s break the concept of “change” into three major categories: remedial, learning, and generative. The first kind of change is known as remedial change. This kind of change is aimed at ‘fixing’ something that’s broken or needs healing. The need for remedial change is typically obvious, yet difficult to deal with. Traditional psychology is designed to facilitate remedial change. Dealing with addiction and psychological trauma are examples of the need for remedial changes.

The second kind of change is known as learning change. Learning change is about cognitive growth and expanding your view of reality (development). Learning change seeks to embrace and live life fully, taking it as it comes with an attitude of learning, curiosity, adaptability, and passion.

Generative change takes you through the different challenges of each part of your life creating new thoughts, emotions and behaviors, is the third kind of change. Generative change covers every aspect and every stage of your life. It gives you the power to adapt to and thrive through the challenges of every age and life situation.

The way you frame change dictates the way you go about making it happen. If you are seeking powerful, productive, and sustainable change, you need to create an environment of generative change.

PREPARING FOR CHANGE

The time to prepare for change is before it happens (and it’s happening all the time). You need to be able to respond to the demands of generative change requirements of business projects like start-ups, reengineering, re-organizing, mergers, and the like.

How often have you heard, “If we could only change this or that, things would start to pick up around here?” Yet, when someone actually starts to tackle the issue, even the people who want change resist and fight it tooth and nail? How much more difficult is change when people don’t like it, don’t understand it, or simply don’t like the person who initiated the change?

It may seem crazy, but you’ve seen it happen (or maybe even participated!) in creating less-than-optimal results from a change effort you’ve been a part of. One of the places to start being a change master is to change the belief that change needs to be hard or painful. Change beliefs about people such as, “People never change” and realize that “the change must start with me!”

Why does every change expert say you need to banish fear? Change seems and feels very dangerous. Change tests your ego-strength, your courage, and your ability to see and take reality head-on. To banish fear, you have to overcome the ego-defenses that stymie change such as denial, excuse-making, and rationalization. Then, you need to create the ego-strength to overcome the fear, accept and give feedback, take on reality as it really is, and to create and realize powerful visions.

How do you take on this radical and profound change in people? First, approach change with a new outlook. Change is a learning and developmental process that is natural (change happens all the time), desirable, and motivating. This takes both cleaning up past baggage and instilling new ways of thinking and doing. The challenge calls for a whole new set of skills to enable us to intentionally adapt to and embrace change.

One way to make this change happen is to commit to self-actualization: your self, your leaders, and your organization. Self-actualizing means identifying and committing to do and be your best. This transformative process unleashes creativity, leadership, and the capacity to produce excellent results through people and processes. It closes the broad gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it.

What it takes:

First. Commit to self-actualizing yourself and your organization to realize your potential as human beings. Start by training yourself and your leaders. Provide self-actualization (Meta) coaching to prepare for and navigate major change and unleash the potential of your organization. Join in the New Human Potential movement to reach our utmost and best.

For more information on Neuro-Semantics training and Meta-Coaching, refer to the resources and contacts provided on this site.

Author: Joe Brodnicki is a Meta-Coach, Neuro-Semantic NLP trainer, and organizational development consultant. He is dedicated to creating a world in which people want to belong through creating purpose, peace, and prosperity. Joe lives in Hendersonville, TN and can be reached at 615.830.9355 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            615.830.9355      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or at joeb2665@mindspring.com.