It’s been said that change is difficult.  It’s not because it’s going to take a long time to change; it’s not because we’re going to be doing something different; and it’s not because the situation has changed, and therefore, we must adapt.

It’s because there’s already been a change even before we either realize we need to change, or someone tells us we need to change.  And that means we need to leave our comfort zone.

Unfortunately, we don’t like feeling uncomfortable.  For many of us, we’ll only change when we realize we must change.  A speaker at a recent presentation I attended about wisdom had this to say: “What we can tolerate, we cannot change.”  What a powerful statement!

However, even if we’re told that unless we change (stop smoking, lose weight, exercise more, etc.) we will face dire if not catastrophic consequences, there is only a 1 in 9 chance that we’ll actually change.  Why?  Because we are creatures of habit, and are comfortable with habits that are, well, comfortable.

We get into the groove, so to speak, and, if you’re in the groove, eventually the groove will become deeper.  Then, it’s no longer a groove.  A deep groove is called a rut.  And it’s difficult to get out of a rut.

If you’re in a rut, you need to take corrective action to get out of the rut.  That means change what you’re doing.

If you don’t the rut will become deeper…and deeper…until it might be a deep rut.  And if it six feet deep, that rut turns into a grave.

Feeling uncomfortable is why people don’t take action to change or even advocate for change until they are personally affected by whatever changes they’ve heard about in the news or through their local community grapevines.

Even then, however, most people will just complain.

When one does decide to change, change is not just a “one-time” thing.  If it is, we eventually become comfortable again, and get into a different groove, and eventually into a different rut…perhaps this time, one that’s even deeper than the previous one we were in.  We could also realize that the new comfort zone is different from the previous comfort zone.  Even if it is, it’s still comfort.  Therefore, “different” really isn’t the issue either.

The real issue is comfort.

The speed of change today is more rapid than it has ever been in the history of humanity.  In the text, “Big Bang Disruption: Strategy in the Age of Devastating Innovation,” authors Larry Downes and Paul Nunes share how innovation used to come about, how that changed with the introduction of the Internet about 20 or so years ago, and how that has now changed again in the past few years with the introduction of a small mobile device and the applications (what we call “apps”) which have been and are constantly being created for it.  Industries that have had long histories of success have suddenly changed, and sometimes, disappeared, seemingly instantly.  Transportation, retail, and the recording industry are just a few that are undergoing huge transformations today.

Video was one of those things.  Remember video cameras?  How big they used to be, how expensive they were, and how editing video was something best left to professionals or to enthusiasts who owned some pretty nice equipment?  Then, a company came out with the Flip video camera.  It had a “flip” USB connector so it became very easy to transfer video files to a computer.  With the iPhone, however, the need for an inexpensive video camera disappeared.  Flip still lives, but as an HD recording device which costs over $300.  Once again, if you’re an enthusiast, this is a great piece of equipment.  But if you just want to record the moments of your life, chances are your mobile device already has that functionality built-in, and, since it’s connected to a data plan, they can be shared with friends or stored in the cloud immediately.

And now, we have AI – Artificial Intelligence.  The release of ChatGPT is nothing short of amazing, and it’s continued use will continue to put other products and services out of business.  While it’s not “perfected,” yet, the definition of “intelligence” requires that learning take place.  As more and more people use it, and parameters are more and more defined, be prepared for some mind-blowing results in the very near future.

And before you think it’s a passing fad, that’s what was thought about 3D printers…and television…when they first appeared in the marketplace.

Since change is happening faster and faster today, it may help us to adapt by adopting a change in attitude, creating a mindset of being comfortable with being uncomfortable.  Then we can be ready for and adapt to the next change that will happen even before we expect it.

For many businesses (and if you’re the leader of a school, know that your school is a business too), our pandemic reality has caused us to realize once and for all that “That’s the way we’ve always done it” can never be uttered again.  Everything changed during the pandemic – and everything is now different.

And we don’t like change, right?  We like everything to remain just the way it is.  Change means we have to move outside our comfort zone.  And if things were OK yesterday, then it’s OK for tomorrow.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.  Living things change.  Daily.  Hourly.  Actually, there are changes every microsecond of life.  If things don’t change, they stagnate.  And then, die.

The thing is that change really isn’t a logical thing.  It’s rooted in emotion.  Here’s a great video to illustrate why we think change is hard, and what we can do about it: Change – from the Heath Brothers.

Mahatma Gandhi has been quoted as saying, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”  But, like all great quotations, that may not be true.  According to an op-ed piece from the New York Times in 2011:

It turns out there is no reliable documentary evidence for the quotation. The closest verifiable remark we have from Gandhi is this: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.”  Here, Gandhi is telling us that personal and social transformation go hand in hand, but there is no suggestion in his words that personal transformation is enough. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/falser-words-were-never-spoken.html, Accessed 1.26.2019)

The words attributed to Gandhi certainly make sense, for instance, when talking about peace, honesty or some other type of philosophical or philanthropic quality.  In other words, if you want to see peace, be a peaceful person; if you want to see more honesty, then be honest; if you want to see less anger, then be less angry.

When it comes to change, however, we are change.  Our bodies change every day from the time we’re born to the day we die.  Our cells completely change every 7 years.  For instance, the skin cells you can now see on your body will be gone in a month and replaced by new cells…that will be gone in another month.

But if we seek peace, for example, we must first become a peaceful person.  Similarly, if we seek to manage change, then we must be open to change. This is especially important when planning for change since the routes leading to significant improvement or transformative innovation may not be clear-cut.  There will no doubt be “meta” change; that is, the process designed to create change will itself change as adjustments may need to be made.  This is precisely what’s meant by “metamorphosis.”

Sadly, there are some people who are so focused on attaining the goal, and who may craft an impeccable plan to implement the change in order to reach that goal, they may not be open to the possibility of the change that may need to happen along the way to achieving the goal.

And if we want to see significant improvement, can we instantly “significantly improve” through “significant change?”  Or does significant improvement start with small improvements, which will lead to other improvements?  Does transformative innovation start with huge innovations, or are small innovations necessary to prepare the way for the truly transformational result?

Whether big or small, it will serve us well to remember where to focus.  As Jack Dixon has been quoted as saying, “If we focus on the results, we will never change; if we focus on the change, we will see results.”