9 Guidelines for dealing with change—

1. All change involves loss, feelings of sadness and frustration. You can’t control everything that happens to you, but you can control how you respond to the situation.  You should face the change and deal with it directly, and not ignore the situation.

2. Change can give you a feeling of self-doubt. You can talk yourself into a sense of failure or being afraid.  Counteract this feeling with positive self-talk.  Take stock of your strengths and what you have going for you.  Think of people you can talk to who can give you suggestions for the situation you’re dealing with now.

3. Change creates stress. Find positive ways of dealing with the stress.  It may be helpful to talk to someone about your anger and frustrations.  Give yourself some time and space to relax, away from your stress, which may help you see things differently or even positively.

4. Review the last few changes in which you have have dealt with.  Identify what has helped you deal with them, as well as what didn’t work for you.  This can give you an idea of which coping methods help you, and which don’t.

5. Keep your sense of humor, which is one of the best stress fighters there is.  Laughter is good therapy and actually makes people healthier.  You can’t laugh and worry at the same time, so choose laughter.  Accept your feelings and focus on moving forward.

6. Fill the time left by the change with new and interesting pursuits. Take a class you always wanted to, write those letters you been putting off, start a new project, or join a new group.

7. Communicate with family and friends. Changes are usually accompanied by conflicting emotions.  Talking to others about your situation may relieve the tension and make you feel better.  It also allows you to get another person’s perspective and help others to understand what they’re going through.

8. Focus on the rewards the change may bring, such as more personal time or new friendships. Anticipate setbacks and view them as a normal part of the change process, rather than as a failure.

9. Depression may be a response to change but is rarely permanent. You may not even feel you have the energy to deal and cope with the change.  Don’t be afraid to get professional help by calling on friends or professionals who can help you face your change with less anxiety and more confidence and peace of mind.

CHANGE CHALLENGE

The Challenge of Change

It doesn’t take a leader to move a person to fix something that is obviously broken.  It takes a leader to inspire comfortable winners to move to higher ground. It is the hardest thing a leader can do. Just ask the President. What are you doing to help your family make the paradigm shifts that will move your family productively on a journey into the future?

Every parent needs to keep his family out of their comfort zone and hooked on the goal of continuous process improvement. Promote innovative changes throughout your family. If you lead a family and you want your family to give you innovative ideas, ask for their contributions regularly by encouraging and honoring diversity of opinion and thought.  Be open to the unconventional, and be relentless in promoting fresh eyes to uncover new changes and new opportunities.