Accepting Change?

11/13/17 

I struggle with change. As a natural revolutionary, I am prone equally to seeking change, to resisting the authority that wants to make a change, to desiring to set up an alternate structure, and in reflexively wanting to fight to protect the change I had fought for originally- even if it that fix has run its course. So, yeah, cognitive dissonance is a regular bedfellow of mine. Thankfully, though, my professional maturation has led me to temper most of my revolutionary tendencies- leaving me more processing capacity to roll with changes and problem-solve real-time.

Many of us will complain/vent about a new change- even while another part of our brain is working to accept it and move on. All of those responses can be positive… as long as we do accept the change and respond appropriately. Having a person to vent to is really important, as is having that same, trusted person respond with, “So, what are you going to do about it?”

Often, such a question causes us to change gears mentally. We are thrust into a solution-oriented mode. With that mode comes the necessity to balance many considerations like our values, strategies, political and resources costs, relationship impacts, etc. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave us some insight by suggesting that “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Our hope is realized in our positive response to change.