Change is more likely to happen when you least expect it, even if you see it coming.

Five things I believe about Change

I’ve seen a lot of change in my life. As a preacher’s kid, we moved every few years — new school, new friends, new town. As I got older, my interests changed from bikes to cars, from boy scouts to girl friends, from high school hallways to college campus. After graduating, I moved from single life to plus wife, newly-freed freelancer to experienced employer, and went from using markers on drafting tables to designing on Macs. And along the way, I went from a proud new Dad to repeat Dad to proudly hugging the oldest of my sons on his wedding day.

Some changes have been fun, and some have been scary. They’ve also been exhilarating, nerve-wracking, comfortable, wacky, reasonable, and unpredictable. Some changes I have looked forward to, others I never saw coming. And as I look back, I can see how each one has changed my life, and those around me, in some way.

Here are five things I believe about change:

1. You can’t control when change happens.
Change is more likely to happen when you least expect it, even if you see it coming. It can be quick, or it can take way too long. The best strategy is to keep your eyes open.

2. You can control how change happens.
Some people are overwhelmed by change, others tend to ride it like a wave. If you can get on top of it, you won’t drown.

3. Even if you handle the last one well, you don’t get a pass on the next change.
There will always be another change ahead, and you don’t get to decide whether to play.

4. Change is an opportunity.
Change is the gut check, the motivation, the kick in the rear that gets you moving. It can be the lure of a better, brighter future if you evolve, or it can be a slow death by meteor dust if you don’t. Don’t be a dinosaur.

5. Change is never boring.
But I guess that’s probably included in the definition of change, isn’t it?

How have you handled change in your life? How has change made you who you are today?

Kent Dicken
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