Yesterday it was announced that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had resigned. For lovers of technology, the announcement raised many questions: What would this mean? Was Jobs okay? Where was Apple headed now? Remember when you bought your first Newton?
These are the kinds of questions most of us ask when we’re faced with big and unexpected change: we might panic, worry, hypothesize, and reminisce about the good things we believe the change has brought an end to.
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But aside from these responses, we all have our own ways of handling change. So I thought I’d ask you…
What’s your philosophy of change?
In a nutshell, I think I’d sum up my philosophy as “go with it.” To my mind, we can’t unchange something, so we might as well start looking at what’s new—at what the change has left us with, and offers—with as much of an open mind as we can muster.
Some changes are easier to deal with than others, and whether it takes a moment or months, we all need time to get our heads around changes in our lives. But in the process of understanding even negative changes, I find that positive aspects usually appear. Maybe they’re just aspects that my brain chooses to view positively, but in any case, they make change easier to run with.
Once I was made redundant in a mass-layoff situation. The woman sitting beside me in the staff meeting started to cry. But I was smiling. I’d just lost the best-paid job I’d ever had. I’d have to find a new way to pay my rent. I liked my colleagues, and the company was a prestigious one. But I hadn’t exactly loved working there, and now I was free. The world was my oyster. What would I do next? Not knowing was part of the adventure…
This philosophy also makes it very easy to initiate change myself, rather than waiting for it to be kicked off by external forces. If change is the hallmark of adventure, how can I possibly say no to it?
What’s your philosophy of change? I’d love to hear how you handle it in the comments.
About georgina
I like your philosophy. It seems very healthy and positive. I basically deal with change by pretending it’s not happening for as long as possible, then sobbing, and finally, getting on with it. But I do tend to wallow in nostalgia a bit too much.
Trying to be present and mindful helps that some, but sometimes my neuroses just take over. 🙂
I generally believe that there is a bigger plan, or at least a higher power, so I try to remember that when change happens. I don’t know the whole picture, so I can’t really judge whether a change is for good or bad.
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I have historically struggled with change. I try to now meet change in a very grounded place. Then I remind myself that God can dream bigger dreams for me than I can even imagine. I also try to remember that I don’t have the luxury of seeing the big plan for my life.
Hey Anne,
On your point about having the luxury of seeing the big plan, I don’t know that that would be such a luxury. I have a feeling that if we were able to see the future, we might value the “incidental” things — those that didn’t directly advance us toward the known goals — less. Or we’d just give up trying things out, since we’d know what was in store.
Either way, it’d be a bit dull I expect 🙂
Georgina
I have learned over time that some things in life are inevitable and beyond my control. I can’t truly say that the lesson has been entirely devastating, because it hasn’t. I feel lucky in that I can relish the good, and come to accept and adjust to things that are painful or terrifying. My methods are by no means perfect, but I do the best I can with what I’ve got, and I’m okay with that.
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Hi Georgina. Your post caught my eye and got me thinking – how do I manage change, really? I don’t have a clue. That being said, I guess I try my best to prepare my mind – well in advance – and keep going over the positives. If I can convince myself that the change is not that bad, then it doesn’t take me long to come to terms with it. Now my husband, that’s a different story altogether. Thanks for your post, it is definitely food for some serious thought. I would be chewing on it later on. Cheers 🙂
I love change, I take it as it comes. But usually I can feel it coming, my mind is racing before something big is about to happen in my life and it always does. I embrace change as positive all the time.