My two left socks
I have sports socks that I use for running and they are clearly marked L and R correspondingly for Left and Right. By the way, do you also say left and right, or is it just me. Does anyone say right and left?
Anyway, my two socks were paired up as left and left. I was in too much of a hurry to return to my wardrobe and find the matching partners or a different pair all together. I decided that this would be an interesting experiment; two left socks. I wondered if it would feel like being a dancer who claims to have two left feet, though I did not try to dance as I had to pick my children from school. That would have been interesting.
No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world. Robin Williams
I still have my socks on, and I do not feel different or uncomfortable. I once listened to a podcast of a very successful business development analyst and he emphasised the importance of doing something different every day, like rotating your wrist in the opposite direction of what you are used to or juggling a couple of balls the other way around to keep the memory sharp and also to train the brain to adapt to change easily. These exercises may sound simplistic, but they are really effective in helping us to manage change. In my career development workshops as an agent of change and transformative coach, I have a very practical approach to problem solving. Practical exercises that can be taken out of the classroom to the real world. One of my favourite exercises is to ask the participants to switch their wrist watches from the wrist they are wearing them on to the opposite one. For starters, the process of making the switch is already a challenge and when I ask them how it feels most responses are; uncomfortable, weird, different, not pleasant and as we analyse these feelings, some participants are already in the process of re-switches the watches. Why? Because according to David Williams, author of 20 Change Exercises for Group Workshops, our brains are programmed in such away that we confine ourselves to what we are most comfortable with and quickly regress to old and comfortable habits during a process of change.
Change is the new constant
Are you change averse? Are you resistant to change? Change-phobic? Word on the street is that change, is the new constant going forward. The world is evolving at such incredible speed that they only way we can keep up, be it in our careers or business, is to keep up with the changes happening in our world. Blanchard and Spencer, authors of Who Moved My Cheese, assert that because of constant change taking place in our world, we might as well “learn how to adapt and enjoy something better”.
There are a number of resources that can help us to adapt to change. Some of my favourite tips can be found on the all business website. They range from familiarizing quickly, exercising empathy and focusing on one change at a time. You can find all the 10 tips here
My fool proof exercises
Here are some exercises that I use that help me to be more open to change (psstttt……….. I still have a few cassettes and video tapes, shhhh):
- Analyse the value change will bring
- Enjoy the process and take advantage of learning something new
- Engage a support partner to see you through the process
- Discuss the process with those responsible for the change
- Take small step towards adapting
- Teach yourself to become more flexible
- Read the book Who Moved My Cheese
- Surprise yourself and adapt, you never know what you will discover
All the best and do share your experiences with me by sending an email to chibesa@trunorthguru.com. What tips or resources can you share that have helped you to acclimatise to change?
