It is frequently stated that there are two things guaranteed in life – change and death. Both can create a great stir and unsettling in our understanding of our internal and external worlds. Change is constant – death is constant. Neither can be avoided or escaped. Change can feel like death – death is change. Both parallel to the nth degree and each a brother to the other. Change is a part of existence itself in every form of creation and its destruction. In the instance of any major shift in our current reality; there lies feelings of loss, great uncertainty, confusion, shock, and fear. It can be devastating. We are in a state of continual change and by not accepting that there is an impermanence to all that exists, to what we are and do – we affront it with fear and opposition to its emergence. However, both have been constants in our lives, whether near and dear or from afar, oftentimes not so apparent until much later in life when we become older, wiser, and more present in the broader space of consciousness. At least, it seems to be true in my case. Some witness great shifts to life’s current circumstances and face it with grace, awareness of its occurrence and feelings in response to it, and acceptance that no matter how much we desire to make sense of, control, deny or avoid it – acknowledge that the best course of action is to face it head-on with realistic optimism, embrace the fear that is its companion, see the light at the other end of the tunnel, and proceed in its wake anyway. We must allow for no other avenue but to welcome change with adaptation to new enhanced realities and acceptance of the lessons we have learned and wisdom we have earned as we have successfully done for the entirety of our lifetimes.
Change can be scary, it can shift the foundation from which you stand and make you question everything. It can discombobulate the best of us. The only way to make it through uncertainty and change is through incremental progress and with the support and guidance from our wiser counterparts. Continue to improve and maintain momentum. Be aware that change can also be put upon others; we can either inflict it or consciously introduce a smooth transition to a newer plane. Change further deepens empathy for others and deepens understanding of the human experience. This empathy built from challenges and change, in my opinion, is key to leading others into uncertainty. A leader who has thrived through change will have the trust of those who are experiencing change for the first time. However, life evolves or fluctuates. We ourselves are ever-changing and hopefully continually growing from it. We become different. These experiences can either build character and wisdom or they can fracture the human spirit and lead us down a tumultuous and dark path to a destination of denial and desperation. We must find these new bits of wisdom and put them together into a better existence first for ourselves and then for those around us. We are the navigators of our lives and responsible for how we respond to life’s challenges.
In this different and enhanced existence, we need to identify our primary emotions as they occur and not ignore or avoid them, look for new opportunities to grow, let go of what we cannot control and focus on what we can, and create new practices and behaviors, like journaling or talking to close friends about our thoughts, fears, and plans for moving forward. These practices and behaviors provide a respite from fear and fill spaces of uncertainty with an actionable plan that can provide hope. Taking care of one’s mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health is essential in processing the uncertainty of change. Exercise, prayer, and meditation are like medicine for the mind, heart, body, and soul. I keep these as a constant in my life. We are ultimately responsible for our well-being. The choices we make influence others. Knowing how change can affect us individually provides insight into how to proceed in our consideration of others. Providing empathy, compassion, and being in a place of awareness will help others establish a path to the successful acceptance of any change.
Change in your personal life is as inevitable and ever-present as it is in your professional life. The same considerations must be taken in change management in either scenario Whether we are the instigators or the experiencers, we need to identify our role in that change and how it affects us, as leaders, team members, and our environment. This encompasses demystifying myths about change and creating realistic optimism for future opportunities, responding to change by taking great care of our own overall well-being first and then the well-being of team members, facing challenges with creativity and resilience, preparing to learn, and creating change behavior by providing a safe environment for risk-taking, identifying performance and opportunity gaps, and creating prototypes to test new processes. We lead a change initiative by creating a case for change, identifying change influencers, making clear action plans, and sustaining team results by developing new processes. Resistance can be addressed by helping the team embrace change, making resisters part of the solution, removing tasks that don’t bring value, breaking projects into manageable chunks, and supporting team member efforts.
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And remember, express yourself in any way that brings you joy and relief and share it with the world. You don’t owe it to anyone but yourself. Stay happy, healthy, safe, and happy graphics, my friend.
Graphic Design (verb): the ultimate trust enhancers, content simplifiers and organizers, efficient and effective information communicators, emotion evokers, and cognition captivators.
Nancy Mues 