How do we Navigate Change Successfully?
We can often be caught up in a sea of emotion when we are navigating change, whether it is forced on us or we choose it. There are so many emotional dynamics to navigate. There will always be a sense of loss for the old way of life and an apprehension about a new life that lies ahead, one that we are yet to shape.
A change can stem from a positive or negative life-changing environment…
Having a child can be a wonderful moment in life but can also change many other aspects of our life.
Losing our parents can be heartbreaking and can trigger changes within family dynamics and ways of being.
Starting a new job after a career break can be exciting, but at the same time nerve-wracking.
Regardless of the starting point, when we are amid change our brain is awash with emotions, like being in a fog, and it can often feel overwhelming to deal with.
The outcome is that we either don’t deal with it and it festers; we deal with it badly and there are negative consequences; or we manage to deal with it successfully and we get to a better place with a calm and happy life.
In any event, weathering that storm of change can be terrifying alone, especially if we don’t have the right equipment to steer us through it. It’s like being in a boat at sea in a storm, without an oar, sail or a rudder to navigate us through. You can feel out of control with nothing to lean on for support, gripping the side of the boat just hoping you will find your way through to the calmness on the other side.
Unfortunately, some people can stay in this sea of distress and trauma for years, because they don’t know how to move through it. Stuck on the boat in a storm.
They might be stuck in a marriage that doesn’t serve them, stuck in a job role that doesn’t fulfil them, stuck in a lifestyle that doesn’t energise them.
We have all been there at some point, and quite often for far longer than we should.
The problem is that we haven’t known how to move forward or had the confidence to navigate our way through the storm and reach the other side.
Navigating change isn’t something we just know how to do; it isn’t something we are born knowing, and it’s not something we are taught at school. It’s not our fault that we don’t know how to deal with this stuff.
However, Change Management is something we can and should learn. It can give us the right equipment to sail through the storm with more hope and confidence. To get to that ultimate island of calm and happiness that we all deserve to experience.
So how do we learn change management techniques?
In the workplace, Change Management is an applied discipline. There are principles, methodologies and approaches a practitioner will learn and apply to help people navigate change to their working environment. It is a thing.
In life, however, these principles are not taught. We don’t hear about them, and we don’t go on a change management course to learn how to deal with change in life. It’s why I was motivated to write this book and course for people. I wanted to change this reality.
I accidentally came across the benefits of learning change management myself back in 2012, when I had just given birth to my first child and I was navigating the related changes in life, work and relationships. During this first year of parenthood I happened to attend a week-long Change Management course for my work, and that’s when I had the lightbulb moment. In that moment the fog lifted and everything seemed clear. I could understand the rationale for my feelings and could see new ways to navigate them.
I realised that the strategies, tools and resources that were being taught and applied in the workplace could also be applied to life and I felt the need to share them more widely with people.
As an NLP practitioner and coach, I thought I would know these concepts, but this Change Management course and its discipline gave me a whole new dimension to explore.
It helped me to look at situations with more objectivity, in black and white, and to break down the fog of emotion that we get so easily caught up in. It helped me to see things with a new lens and gave me hope and confidence to navigate things differently and try a new approach.
I realised that we all need to know how to navigate change better in life and work.
Without the right equipment, we are just caught up with the fog of emotions in our head and our body, with no way of really making sense of them all and planning a road ahead.
As a result, we don’t choose to change because we don’t know how to.
We stand still.
The stress manifests.
…and the stress of the issue builds up. This stress can have a significant impact on our body and mind, causing depression, inflammation and other ailments.
We can choose to stay in this place of trauma, stress, depression, or we can choose to fight our way through it.
No one will give you the sail, the oar or the rudder; you must ask for them, you must learn how to use them, and you must put them in the water and start doing the work.
This book will give you the tools you need to navigate your way through change.
- The Book will be your Sail – The book is your wind, that external force that is helping you find your way through the storm and fog.
- The Tools will be your Rudder – What you learn will give you the confidence and clarity to set a direction and steer your boat in the direction you want to go.
- Applying the tools will be your Oar – Putting the new strategies and tools into practice will give you the propulsion and movement to where you want to go.
Navigating change successfully is about intentionally learning how to sail your own boat in the direction you want to go. You decide on your course; you change tack and sail toward the calm and happiness you want.
Are you with me on this journey?