The title is really a misnomer because it’s difficult to “manage” change. It suggests that you can change other people’s minds and get them to think the same way you do. If that were possible we’d have a world of walking zombies all thinking the exact same thing and living life the exact same way. What a terrible world that would be! Our differences are what make us interesting.
Anyway, getting back to managing change, there are only 2 things you can really control in life. Do you know what they are? It’s Your thoughts and Your actions – no one elses’ just yours. That can sometimes make for aggravating conversations and frustration with other people but hey, no one said this was easy or simple. Learning to debate is a good healthy skill to cultivate but during my school years I would have rather put sharp stakes in my eyes than have to take a class on debating. Now, years later I see the folly of my ways.
One of my passions is helping other people understand the process of change and how they can influence the outcome of any change they are experiencing instead of feeling like a victim of it. (have I ever shared that I don’t like victim behavior?) Change happens everyday and it’s something we go into kicking and screaming which just makes it worse. Now mind you, I’m not saying to bow down and roll over if it’s something you have issues with over values and principles, I’m just saying we make it a lot harder on ourselves than is necessary.
Why not explore the changes, look for what is good as well as bad, discuss them without becoming hysterical, and then make a decision on whether or not it is a good change to embrace. We always have a choice in how we respond to something different or new, what’s called for in these days is to bounce the idea up against the values and principles we hold and see what the differences are, if any. A good portion of what I see nowadays would fail that test miserably but that’s another story.
Let’s make a pack that we’ll not take new ideas with either reckless abandon or total rejection. Let’s decide to weigh the pros and cons from many different sources and then make up our minds – that’s the crucial piece here. Make up our own minds, don’t let someone else make up our minds for us and do that mind making up with civility and respect. That’s something in really short supply these days but nothing that has happened to us in the past has warranted us losing it. We’re just forgetting our manners when it comes to dealing with real human beings and the number of changes we’re facing every day. We all matter and we matter to each other – try to remember that, will ‘ya?