CHANGE IS GOOD.......HERE'S SOME HELP

3-Golden Rules of Innovation

By Pete Koerner

It isn't always easy to be different; yet, if you want to be innovative, you've got to break with trends, traditions, and even your own habits. There's no way around this; innovators are bringers of new things - not old things. New means change; change means different. You won't find those inspirations and motivations to do new things, however, by staying in your comfort zone. Innovators in business, industry, and technology all follow certain rules - their own rules - not the standard rules of thinking and acting that most of society uses. To break through to a new reality, try following these "golden rules" for creating change:

Be Creative. Do something new; do something different. You can use old things and ideas for inspiration; but avoid repeating old ideas. Instead, seek that which is new - no matter how scary it might be to be radically different.

Be Bold. Stand and face the world courageously; you are not really any safer sitting at home with your un-tried ideas dying a slow death. When you do something new and different, never apologize; always move forward learning and growing from each new experience. Don't be afraid of being different; be proud of being different - revel in your uniqueness and boldness.

Be Focused on Your Vision. Diligent thought, imagination, focus and concentration are the true tools of successful innovation. The Wright brothers did not solidify their vision of a powered airplane by casually chatting about the possibility for a few minutes each day; they were beset with a firm belief that they could fly - and they stayed focused on that vision until it came to fruition.

The stimulus of the outside world (television, news media, entertainment media, family drama, friends, schedules, conflicts, etc...) is always pulling at our focus and attention; and, combined with all of this environmental "noise," the repetitive programming and conditioning we are exposed to make it nearly impossible for anyone to have a truly original thought. Coupled with the unfortunate fact that many people's spirits are often "beat into submission" at a very young age with verbal, emotional, and physical abuse, creating something new - and stepping out of the box - can present quite a challenge. But you will find that the journey is worth it if only you stay the course, stay awake, and follow these simple rules for realizing your goals and dreams - and creating a positive change in the world.


If you're ready for change, and ready to break-through old barriers and overcome old limitations, try using EFT* to set yourself free of old limitations and unlock your creativity.
If you're ready for change, and ready to break-through old barriers and overcome old limitations, try using EFT* to set yourself free of old limitations and unlock your creativity.
*To download your FREE, Illustrated Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Manual, go to: http://www.ExploreExpandEvolve.com/free_download/ (It only takes about 10-seconds to get your Free EFT manual and start erasing fears and limiting beliefs!)Pete Koerner is the author of The Belief Formula: The Secret to Unlocking the Power of Prayer. The Belief Formula is a look at how you can use ancient wisdom and modern scientific awareness to learn how to use your mind to reclaim your health and create the life of your dreams.For a Free Report on Making The Belief Formula Work for You, visit: http://www.TheBeliefFormula.comArticle Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pete_Koerner

CHANGE IS GOOD.....DON'T WORRY

What Me Worry-Not Anymore!

By Carol Giannantonio

Many of us work very hard to organize our lives and work to minimize surprises and problems. However, despite your most diligent efforts, things don't always turn out this way. Life is unpredictable. Life happens.

I have been the so called "worrying" type for many years and can relate to the pain and no gain of worry. However, by setting a goal around easing my worry, I am now able to control my worry situations and turn them into positive productive, happy moments in my life. As a result, I experience less stress, more happiness and success. Not a bad prize for taking a few simple yet committed action steps towards changing my worry times to wonderful times.

Worry sets in for most of us when our plans don't turn out as we expect and our life takes a few sharp turns or we are faced with a decision to make. Ultimately, worry is a form of fear and anxiety caused by lack of decision.

However, spending hours of worrying is unproductive. You begin to feel trapped, confused, frustrated. You loose your ability to focus on solutions. You find yourself caught in the drama of the situation- a situation that may not be as severe as you perceive it to be because your focus is blurred by your worrying. However, by shifting your perspective to gain clarity on your situation, you can begin to focus on realistic solutions. It is these solutions that will stop your worrying.

Here are four steps to get you started living a worry free and wonderful life.

One: Gain Clarity on the "current reality". Define the worry situation clearly in writing. Most of our problems can be solved by clearly defining them in writing. Remember, "Awareness and Acceptance is half the battle.

Two: Determine the worst possible outcome of the situation. What is the absolute worst that can happen?

Three: Resolve to accept the worst should it occur. The first step in dealing with any negative situation is to be willing to have it so. Once you resolve to accept the worst, your mind will become calm and clear and you'll be ready to take constructive action.

Four: The final step is to take immediate action. Begin doing everything you possibly can to improve upon the worst. The cure for worrying is to engage in meaningful action daily.
Involve yourself in positive actions that move you forward. These actions alone will get your mind excited about the new possibilities that lie ahead vs. worrying about what has passed or what may happen. You'll find you don't have time to worry since your too busy taking positive actions and enjoying the excitement.
As you take action, your confidence, courage and sense of control will return. Your fears and anxiety will disappear. Infect, you will feel happy and energized.

Try these three action steps and you'll be amazed how quickly your worries disappear.

1. Take out a piece of paper and make a list. Down one side of a page list all the situations causing you stress or worry at the moment.

2. On the other side of the page, write out the worst possible thing that could happen as a result. Review your list. Read it out loud. You'll be amazed to see much of your worry disappear with this simple exercise.

3. This is my favorite, when I catch myself worrying I stop, close my eyes and remember how good it feels when I am not worry.

Good Luck and Remember Enjoy the moment!


For over 10 years, Carol Giannantonio has helped individuals positively transform their lives and careers through her unique coaching and goals setting process. Carol's knowledge of and passion for coaching combined with her compassion and wisdom provide her clients with an enriching coaching experience. Her clients quickly see an improvement in their performance, experience positive changes in their overall quality of life and learn new and improved ways of thinking that allow them to reach their full potential. Carol is a Life Coach and Educator who specializes in helping people clarify what's really important to them and supports them in having a life they want and love. Her guiding principle is, "Go The Distance to Reach Your Dreams. Please visit her Web site http://www.carolgcoach.com and sign up for a free consultation, her newsletter, daily quotes and much more. Contact her at carolgcoach@aol.com for a truly unique coaching experience.
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CHANGE IS GOOD.......TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

Keys to Feeling Powerful In An Uncertain World

By Lorraine Cohen

Life has always been full of uncertainties. Over the last several years with downsizing, bankruptcies, scandals, crime, the economic environment, and the threat of war, people are feeling power-less, fearful, and stressed about their present and future lives. I know people give their power away, often in ways they don’t realize.
#1 SECRET to Being "In Power"
No matter what life situation you are experiencing; your interpretation (perception/attitudes) towards that situation is the key to shifting from power-less to power-full. Do you see the experience as a problem, barrier, something too big for you to handle – a negative that evokes emotional distress? OR do you perceive the situation as a challenge, something that moves you forward, excites you, evokes creative problem solving? How you (1) view that situation and (2) view yourself in that situation can shift you dramatically from power-less to power-full in an instant!
Example: Consider any situation you perceive as having no control. Is that really true? Ask yourself….
In this situation, is there anything I do control?
In this situation, is there anything I can influence?
Now, consider that situation once more. Has your original perception of having no control changed in any way? If yes, how?
Strategies that Help You Stay Strong and Focused:
Ramp up extreme self-care. I use extreme because taking the best care of You is serious. Identify ways to replenish and strengthen yourself – mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When we feel replenished, we handle situations with strength, clarity and focus. Consider what fuels and energizes you?
Decrease/eliminate energy drains. What are you tolerating/putting up with that drains your energy? We put up with, accept, take on and are dragged down by people’s behavior, situations, unmet needs, crossed boundaries, in-completions, problems and even our own behavior (avoidance, silence, compliance) We can even normalize things because we have become conditioned to put up with it! You are putting up with more than you think, so what are you tolerating? Be specific. Here are some examples; needed repairs, clutter, unanswered correspondence, debt, a job, a relationship. What about the subtle energy zappers that drain you? What is this costing you? What are you willing to do to change? Want to direct your energy more productively, feel more revitalized and focused?
Create and enforce boundaries. Find your voice! Boundaries (limits) separate us from other people and situations; keeping us safe from threats, real or imagined. When we set boundaries (and reinforce them!), we create a "living space" for ourselves that tells us where we "end" and someone else "begins." By setting and maintaining your boundaries, you will educate people how you wish to be respected. The result? You become a great model for others and your relationships benefit by being with a happier YOU!
Monitor self-sabotage. What is self-sabotage? Self-sabotage is the combination of attitudes (beliefs, thoughts, feelings) and actions (behaviors) that create obstacles and roadblocks to our success, life fulfillment, etc. Self-defeating behaviors are the result of self-defeating attitudes. To be open to change is to be willing to accept yourself exactly as you are, Moving beyond self-sabotage requires having an open mind; letting go of self-judgments and criticisms. Forgive yourself for past choices and take the lessons/experiences learned to strengthen and empower you.
Surround yourself with people and things that life your Spirit. What brings you joy? We are influenced and impacted by the people in our lives especially within our inner circle. Allowing the special people in your life to love and support you is a gift and a blessing from which to draw strength, clarity, and courage.
Practice daily gratitude – Recognizing your daily blessings, big and small evokes peace and trust. Taking time to express sincere gratitude generates joy-full thoughts and feelings. Put your attention on the glass half full rather than the glass half empty.
Be a risk-taker. MOVE! Take action! Focus on the outcomes you can control or influence in your life.



Copyright 2003, Lorraine Cohen
Lorraine Cohen of Powerfull Living (http://www.powerfull-living.biz) is a Business Coach and Life Strategist and Team Member of Solo-E (http://www.Solo-E.com). Lorraine Cohen is a Business Coach & Life Strategist who brings more than 25 years of experience in life coaching, counseling, and sales. She helps people through career change, life transitions, and the process of breaking through FEAR and removing barriers to success.
Find more articles like this at http://www.Solo-E.com, the lifestyle-inspired online learning and connection community. Visit now to receive a free copy of our special report, The Four Secrets of Solo Entrepreneur Success, plus a complimentary 30-day membership.
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CHANGE IS GOOD.....GET OVER IT.

Personal Fear of Change and How to Change It!

By Patricia Weber

It’s interesting how we intellectually know that tomorrow will be different from yesterday, or even different from today. We know this based on experience. Wasn’t it only yesterday computers started appearing on people’s office desks? And now today, some of those people who cursed the wretched new things, rage when theirs or anyone else’s computer is down! Tomorrow will not be the same as yesterday. We know it. And yet, many of us go through change and feel battle fatigue, look worn out, whine loudly.
As part of this intellectualizing let’s challenge some myths of change. Let’s take charge of our thinking about living with change. After all, within these myths are the thorns that cause some of our discomfort with the change process.
One myth, people resist change, is almost as a rally cry in corporations and organizations.
It even echoes in families. People don’t resist change as much as we fear uncertainty and the unknown. People don’t resist change but shriek, “Just don’t try to change me!” Most of us WANT change. We want to change from being stressed to feeling more relaxed. We want to free ourselves from limited choices and have a greater number of options. If we get sick, we do whatever we can to get ourselves feeling well. Many of us get stuck in yesterday and yet daily we live with change.
Another favorite myth is “This is a bad thing!” You can use anything you want to replace the word “this.”
Even out of what begins as a tragic change, there usually is a pot of gold at the end. I have a friend whose husband was a tugboat operator for 25 years. One evening rather than delegating the task of going into town to buy groceries, for whatever reason, he went in himself. Apparently, putting together clues at the site, he must have slipped, lost his balance or somehow fell off the docks. He hit his head and snapped his neck, dead in that instant. A tragic, needless accident. An unsettling, life-changing event. Yet nearly a year later, my friend who lost her husband, has lost 50 pounds, and is having more success than ever in her work, and very recently there have been some new men in her life.
Most of us go through the process of change similar to experiences we have in grieving the death of someone we love. We are after all, human. For a while we grasp on to the way things “were” yesterday. In our own time, in our own way, we stay stuck until we are ready to let go of yesterday. Then when this release frees us, we move forward. We move on, go new directions, and meet new challenges.
Finally, there’s the myth that change is an event.
Change is constant. Change always is, it never isn’t! What we do live with are life- changing events. Getting married, having a baby, open heart surgery, fatal accident, different job. Maybe snapshots of life similar to these give us the view that change is an event. The image of change is more like a continually playing movie or video. Like with a video system, some events in our life seem to move fast forward, other times it maybe on pause. The reality is changes abound.
Still after all intellectualizing many of us will continue struggle with change. Many of us prefer the comfortableness of being uncomfortable.
My son, a surfer since he was 12 years old, expresses change as a surfing experience. When he was 24, he shared with me lessons learned in surfing: “Some surfers 'read' the wave, some just 'feel' it. It's hard to tell who has the better style, if it works it just works - you can't say one is better, unless you personally like it that way. There is always fear following you, especially when you're dropping in on a 25 or 30 or even 50 foot wave! Some people get scared on little waves - 6 foot or so. When you've hesitated with a thought or action, so fear will never get to come out, And the fear grows stronger from that... since its intention is to overcome you. Anyway, no two waves are the same, ever. You can't predict what will happen or try to have some plan for what you will do when the next wave comes, because it will almost never be exactly as you planned. You just have to get in good position, stay calm, and hope that a good one is coming just for you. When it does, you can't question if it is the one or not. You just have to go with it or go past it, and don't look back or be turned to stone (or fear).”
Get in a good position, challenge the myths of change and ride the wave. Ride the good waves that come your way. Put yourself in charge of change.


Copyright© Patricia Weber, http://www.prostrategies.com.
America’s #1 Coach for Introverts, Shy and Reluctant who sell, Pat Weber, helps you effortlessly get the business you want.
Get her free report, 6 Secrets to Sales Success for Introverts! Go to her website for a more comfortable, confident, no-stress sales method.
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CHANGE IS GOOD.......KNOW HOW TO SURVIVE IT

Change and Transition - 10 Steps to Surviving Change Elegantly

By Sarah Steele

If I say the word "CHANGE" how do you feel? Most people remain fearful, anxious and uncomfortable with change, despite it being a driving issue in our society. It appears that no matter how much experience we have it doesn’t get any easier.
Gaining a level of understanding that allows you to be productive, creative and flexible with your own life as well as helping others handle change is key to succeeding in today's ever-changing world.
Follow these 10 steps to help you cope with the transitions in your life:
1. Recognise that things DO change
Nothing is forever. Neither the good, nor the bad. You will be much less frustrated if you accept the change and decide to manage it, rather than desperately try and cling onto the way things used to be.
2. Pinpoint the specific change you are going through
Because any change has a number of implications in different areas of our lives, we tend to generalise the change we are going through. Stay focussed on one aspect of the change by identifying what you are most afraid of losing as a result of this change and then understanding why that loss is uncomfortable. For example, a new computer system may mean you will no longer feel competent. Feeling incompetent is a very different issue than fighting new technology, and can be easily addressed with training.
3. Accept the loss factor
Admit to yourself that regardless of whether or not you experience this particular change as 'good' or 'bad', there will be a sense of loss. This is the 'better the devil you know' scenario that leads us to put up with a situation we know isn't good for us. Clearly define the change and recognise the areas of your life that will not change as a result.
4. Seek valid information
You will doubt the facts and struggle to believe anything you hear, see or feel about the change. Write down what information you need to know and who can provide you with that data. Ask straight questions, remain open to views that may be different to your own and listen to what you are being told.
5. Take action
Now that you have information, kick-start some forward momentum by taking both physical and mental action. Focus on taking the first baby step by setting priorities, committing to someone else what you will achieve and by when, and exercise (even if it's only a 15 minute walk each day).
6. Recognise the Danger Zone
There comes a point where we choose to move on with the change and discover the opportunities it brings, or to give in to the fear of the unknown and remain fearful, anxious and in denial. Recognise that this normal, and don't allow yourself to succumb. Increasing your small, regular action steps will help you keep that forward momentum going.
7. Make a decision
All the information you gathered may seem overwhelming. To avoid analysis paralysis set yourself a deadline for making a decision and do whatever it takes - even if you resort to flipping a coin! The secret to this is to break big decisions down into small, bite-sized chunks and work on one at a time. This way, decisions are easily reversible.
8. Identify the benefits
All change has some benefits. A divorce can give us the opportunity to have control of the remote, a new job could teach us new skills and starting your own business can provide you with the chance to follow your passion. Understand what the benefits of the change are and recognise them for the great gifts they bring you.
9. Change? What Change?
I promise there will come a time when you stop looking at the 'change' as something different. You will have integrated its challenges and victories into your life and will now feel more stable and open to what the future may hold. Remember everything you have learned for the next exciting, exhilarating and, oh ok, scary change.
10. Identify a change partner
Change is a constant in today's society that you will go through many times in many different situations. Finding a change partner who is committed to encouraging you and supporting you will make the whole experience less scary and probably speedier. This may be a coach who can remain dispassionate, hold the mirror up to your fears and hold onto your highest goals. Or it might be a colleague at work who can help you see both sides of a situation.


Visit Atlantic Coaching for your copy of The Locator to find out exactly where in the cycle of change you are. Sarah Steele MBA, founder of Atlantic Coaching (http://www.atlanticcoaching.com), works globally with high-achieving professionals who, although successful in their career, aren't as successful as they'd like in other areas of their life. Specialising in helping clients get crystal clear about exactly how they want their life to look, something many struggle with, our clients learn how to say “no” graciously, freeing up precious time and space for the things they really want to say yes to. Ultimately, it is through more conscious choices and effective systems that our clients quickly enjoy greater control and experience more success without sacrificing professional achievements. Sarah is an empowering coach, speaker and trainer with more than a decade of global business experience. Combining deep capabilities in communication, change and emotional intelligence, Sarah brings a globally savvy touch to all her work.
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CHANGE IS GOOD.....WHEN YOU STAY CALM.

Positive Words From The Positive Dictionary - The Word 'Calmness'

By Phil Minnaar PhD

To be calm in life is a real challenge. Our days are filled with stresses and strains, with haste and deadlines, with heavy traffic on the way to work and with too many things to do.
We may start the day positively with enthusiasm and eagerness to accomplish something specific that day. The day, however, may turn out totally different. Arriving at the office there may be an urgent matter waiting that needs immediate attention. The phone may be ringing incessantly during the day. Staff and unexpected visitors may be coming continuously to the office. The computer may be slow or down. That evening we feel totally exhausted, with a feeling of nothing accomplished.
A certain amount of stress is healthy and actually necessary for our wellbeing. On a day like this, however, the positive stress has changed into negative distress and the destruction of calmness. We become nervous and experience anxiety. We begin to imagine dire consequences if we do not accomplish what needs to be done. We become tense and impatient. When calmness disappears we become distracted, frustrated and ineffective. This causes a vicious circle of even more distress.
When we are calm we do not feel hurried and are more focused. Every task and every matter receives our full attention. We see more detail and we listen more carefully. We think more clearly and contemplate the implications of our decisions. We tackle every situation with circumspection. Interruptions become challenges and opportunities to serve. Our demeanor becomes more courteous and friendly. Time becomes unimportant and seems to expand. We become more positive and more effective. After a day of calmness we feel fulfilled and experience a sense of happiness.
What can we do to be calm or to remain calm in strenuous situations? We can:
infuse a feeling of calmness in our being;
expect the unexpected;
handle every task as if it is the only thing to do for the rest of the day;
avoid trying to be perfect and just do our best;
think about the bigger purpose of what we are doing;
see our work as a service;
breath deeper;
let our shoulders down;
relax our jaws;
smile often and
be grateful for the opportunity to be able to work.

To be calm is indeed a sign of strength.

Phil Minnaar PhD is a management consultant specializing in management information, business intelligence systems and systems thinking. He has a multi-disciplinary PhD in Computer Science and Information systems, applied to Educational Management.
He has a particular interest in the power of positive thinking and recently published his book, The Positive Dictionary. He went through various dictionaries and selected only words with positive meanings or connotations. For each word he wrote a concise explanation in the form of an action or activity which can be practiced to use that word to become more positive in life. Each word is also explained in the form of a deeper thought or a slogan or a motto, which can be followed in life.
The Positive Dictionary is a practical resource for a positive attitude and success in the workplace.
More information about The Positive Dictionary is available on http://www.thepositivedictionary.com
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CHANGE IS GOOD.......MAKE IT PERSONNAL.

Coping with Change: Develop Your Personal Strategy.

By Steve Singleton

Why do we resist change?As the saying goes, the only people who like change are busy cashiers and wet babies. We find change disorienting, creating within us an anxiety similar to culture shock, the unease visitors to an alien land feel because of the absence of the familiar cues they took for granted back home. With an established routine, we don't have to think! And thinking is hard work.
Change is a business fact of lifeIs your company is currently undergoing major changes that will affect the lives of all of its employees? These changes are probably in response to the evolving needs of your customers. They are made possible because of improvements in telecommunications and digital technology. They are likely guided by accepted principles and practices of total quality management. And you can expect that they will result in significant improvements profitability--a success that all employees will share. Because our customers' needs are NOW, we must make changes swiftly, which means that all of us must cooperate with the changes, rather than resist them.
How do we resist change?We tend to respond to change the same way we respond to anything we perceive as a threat: by flight or fight. Our first reaction is flight--we try to avoid change if we can. We do what futurist Faith Popcorn calls "cocooning": we seal ourselves off from those around us and try to ignore what is happening. This can happen in the workplace just by being passive. We don't volunteer for teams or committees; we don't make suggestions, ask questions, or offer constructive criticism. But the changes ahead are inescapable. Those who "cocoon" themselves will be left behind.
Even worse is to fight, to actively resist change. Resistance tactics might include negativity, destructive criticism, and even sabotage. If this seldom happens at your company, you are fortunate.
Take a different approach to changeRejecting both alternatives of flight or flight, we seek a better option--one that neither avoids change nor resists it, but harnesses and guides it.
Change can be the means to your goals, not a barrier to them. Both fight and flight are reactions to perceiving change as a threat. But if we can change our perceptions, we can avoid those reactions. An old proverb goes, "Every change brings an opportunity." In other words, we must learn to see change as a means of achieving our goals, not a barrier preventing us from reaching them.
Another way of expressing the same thought is: A change in my external circumstances provides me with an opportunity to grow as a human being. The greater the change is, the greater and faster I can grow. If we can perceive change along these lines, we will find it exciting and energizing, rather than depressing and debilitating.
Yet this restructuring of our perspective on change can take some time. In fact, coping with change follows the same steps as the grieving process.1 The steps are shock and denial that the old routine must be left behind, then anger that change is inevitable, then despair and a longing for the old ways, eventually replaced by acceptance of the new and a brighter view of the future. Everyone works through this process; for some, the transition is lightning fast, for others painfully slow.
Realize your capacity to adapt.As one writer put it recently:
Our foreparents lived through sea changes, upheavals so cataclysmic, so devastating we may never appreciate the fortitude and resilience required to survive them. The next time you feel resistant, think about them and about what they faced--and about what they fashioned from a fraction of the options we have. They blended old and new worlds, creating family, language, cuisine and new life-affirming rhythms, and they encouraged their children to keep on stepping toward an unknown but malleable future.2
Human beings are created remarkably flexible, capable of adapting to a wide variety of environments and situations. Realizing this can help you to embrace and guide change rather than resisting or avoiding it.
Develop a coping strategy based on who you are.Corporate employees typically follow one of four decision-making styles: analytical, directive, conceptual, and behavioral. These four styles, described in a book by Alan J. Rowe and Richard O. Mason,3 have the following characteristics:
Analytical Style – technical, logical, careful, methodical, needs much data, likes order, enjoys problem-solving, enjoys structure, enjoys scientific study, and enjoys working alone.
Conceptual Style – creative and artistic, future oriented, likes to brainstorm, wants independence, uses judgment, optimistic, uses ideas vs. data, looks at the big picture, rebellious and opinionated, and committed to principles or a vision.
Behavioral Style – supportive of others, empathetic, wants affiliation, nurtures others, communicates easily, uses instinct, avoids stress, avoids conflict, relies on feelings instead of data, and enjoys team/group efforts.
Directive Style – aggressive, acts rapidly, takes charge, persuasive and/or is manipulative, uses rules, needs power/status, impatient, productive, single-minded, and enjoys individual achievements.
Read once more through these descriptions and identify which style best describes you. Then find and study the strategy people who share your style follow to cope with change:
Analytical coping strategy – You see change as a challenging puzzle to be solved. You need plenty of time to gather information, analyze data, and draw conclusions. You will resist change if you are not given enough time to think it through.
Conceptual coping strategy – You are interested in how change fits into the big picture. You want to be involved in defining what needs to change and why. You will resist change if you feel excluded from participating in the change process.
Behavioral coping strategy – You want to know how everyone feels about the changes ahead. You work best when you know that the whole group is supportive of each other and that everyone champions the change process. If the change adversely affects someone in the group, you will perceive change as a crisis.
Directive coping strategy – You want specifics on how the change will affect you and what your own role will be during the change process. If you know the rules of the change process and the desired outcome, you will act rapidly and aggressively to achieve change goals. You resist change if the rules or anticipated results are not clearly defined.
Realizing what our normal decision-making style is, can enable us to develop personal change-coping tactics.
How can we cope with change?1. Get the big picture. – Sometimes, not only do we miss the forest because of the trees, but we don't even see the tree because we're focused on the wood. Attaining a larger perspective can help all of us to cope with change, not just the conceptualists. The changes underway at my company are clearly following at least four important trends, which I believe are probably reflective of businesses in general:
Away from localized work toward network-based work,
Away from a feast-or-famine working environment toward a routinely busy working environment,
Away from site-limited approaches toward approaches that are consistent company-wide, and
Away from vertical, top-down management toward a more horizontal management structure, with shared accountability.
Getting at least this much comprehension of the big picture will help us to understand where each of us fits.
2. Do some anchoring. – When everything around you is in a state of flux, it sure helps to find something stable that isn't going to change, no matter what. Your company's values (whether articulated or not) can provide that kind of stability for you. Ours include the Company Family, Focus on the Customer, Be Committed to Quality, and Maintain Mutual Respect. These values are rock-solid; they are not going to disappear or rearrange themselves into something else. Plus, each of us has personal values that perhaps are even more significant and permanent. Such immovables can serve as anchors to help us ride out the storm.
3. Keep your expectations realistic. – A big part of taking control of the change you experience is to set your expectations. You can still maintain an optimistic outlook, but aim for what is realistically attainable. That way, the negatives that come along won't be so overwhelming, and the positives will be an adrenaline rush. Here are some examples:
There will be some bumps along the road. We shouldn't expect all of the changes ahead to be painless, demanding only minimal sacrifice, cost, or effort. In fact, we should expect some dead ends, some breakdowns in communications, and some misunderstandings, despite our best efforts to avoid them. We may not be able to anticipate all of the problems ahead, but we can map out in general terms how we will deal with them.
Not everyone will change at the same rate. The learning rates of any employees will distribute themselves along a bell curve. A few will adapt rapidly, most will take more time, and a few will adjust gradually. Also, many younger employees may find change, especially technological innovations, easier than those older. The reason may be, as one observer explains, "Older people's hard disks are fuller."4 On the other hand, you may find some younger ones surprisingly reluctant to take on a new challenge.
The results of change may come more slowly than we would want. As participants in an "instant society," conditioned by the media to expect complex problems to reach resolution in a 60-minute time frame, we may find the positive results of change slow to arrive from the distant horizon. If we are aware of this, we won't be so disappointed if tomorrow's results seem so similar to today's. 4. Develop your own, personal change tactics. Get plenty of exercise, plenty of rest, and watch your diet. Even if you take all the right steps and follow the best advice, undergoing change creates stress in your life, and stress takes energy. Aware of this, you can compensate by taking special care of your body.
Invest time and energy in training. Sharpen your skills so that you can meet the challenges ahead with confidence. If the training you need is not available through Bowne, get it somewhere else, such as the community college or adult education program in your area.
Get help when you need it. If you are confused or overwhelmed with the changes swirling around you, ask for help. Your supervisor, manager, or coworkers may be able to assist you in adjusting to the changes taking place. Your human resources department and any company-provided counseling services are other resources available to you.
Make sure the change does not compromise either your company values or your personal ones. If you are not careful, the technological advances jostling each other for your attention and adoption will tend to isolate you from personal contact with your coworkers and customers. E-mail, teleconference, voice-mail, and Intranet can make us more in touch with each other, or they can keep us antiseptically detached, removed from an awareness that the digital signals we are sending reach and influence another flesh-and-blood human being.
Aware of this tendency, we must actively counteract the drift in this direction by taking an interest in people and opening up ourselves to them in return. We have to remember to invest in people--all of those around us--not just in technology.
The "new normalcy"Ultimately, we may discover that the current state of flux is permanent. After the events of September 11, Vice President Richard Cheney said we should accept the many resultant changes in daily life as permanent rather than temporary. "Think of them," he recommended, "as the 'new normalcy.'"
You should take the same approach to the changes happening at your workplace. These are not temporary adjustments until things get "back to normal." They are probably the "new normalcy" of your life as a company. The sooner you can accept that these changes are permanent, the better you can cope with them all--and enjoy their positive results.


Notes
1. Nancy J. Barger and Linda K. Kirby, The Challenge of Change in Organizations: Helping Employees Thrive in the New Frontier (Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black Publ., 1995). This source is summarized in Mary M. Witherspoon, "Coping with Change," Women in Business 52, 3 (May/June 2000): 22-25.
2. Susan Taylor, "Embracing Change," Essence (Feb. 2002): 5.
3. Alan J. Rowe and Richard O. Mason, Managing with Style: A Guide to Understanding, Assessing and Improving Decision-Making (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Management Series, 1987) cited in Witherspoon, "Coping with Change."
4. Emily Friedman, "Creature Comforts," Health Forum Journal 42, 3 (May/June 1999): 8-11. Futurist John Naisbitt has addressed this tendency in his book, High tech/high touch: Technology and our search for meaning (New York: Random House, 1999). Naisbitt co-wrote this book with his daughter Nana Naisbitt and Douglas Philips.
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Copyright ©2006 Steve Singleton
Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and numerous articles. He has been an editor, reporter, and public relations consultant. He has taught college-level Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses and has taught seminars in 11 states and the Caribbean.
Go to his DeeperStudy.com for Bible study resources, no matter what your level of expertise. Explore "The Shallows," plumb "The Depths," or use the well-organized "Study Links" for original sources in English translation. Check out the DeeperStudy Bookstore for great e-books, free books, and great discounts. Subscribe to his free "DeeperStudy Newsletter" or "DeeperStudy Blog."
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CHANGE IS GOOD.......DON'T MESS WITH YOURSELF

Are You Yanking The Rug Of Success Out From Under You?

By Sharon A. Michaels

Let's begin at the beginning -- recognizing and understanding self-sabotage.
Definition: Self-sabotaging behaviors are any destructive behaviors that keep you from living up to your true potential and robs you of true success.
Think of a sabotaging behavior as anything you emotionally, spiritually or physically do that can keep you from achieving the success you want, when you want it.
Examples: The goals that were never achieved, the vacation you never found time to take, the exercise equipment gathering dust or the credit cards always charged to the limit.
Sabotage is a negative way to keep you within your success comfort zone. Self-sabotage is like continuously taking three steps forward and two steps back. I call it the "sabotage shuffle." Can you picture it? It's a dance step, three steps up, and two steps back. Again, three steps up, two steps back. There are positive feelings going forward and disappointment and uncertainty as you step back.
Why can self-sabotage be so destructive? Self-sabotage has the power to take away your sense of accomplishment, self-satisfaction and even self-esteem.
THE GOOD NEWS . . . You can choose to end self-sabotaging behaviors and live up to your true potential. You have the power to achieve success, self-satisfaction and happiness.
Successful change begins one small step at a time. Each step builds on the one before until we're able to overcome challenges in positive, productive ways. There are no quick fixes. There are no magical pills or overnight cures. Empowering ourselves to recognize, understand and conquer self-sabotage takes time, effort and emotional commitment.
Here is an activity that's a great place to begin: Focus your energy on one positive thought a day for the next seven days.
Believing you are strong, powerful and successful.
Attracting positive experiences into your life.
Living the words, "I can" and "unstoppable."
Realizing that happiness is a choice.
Appreciating the growth opportunities in life.
Learning from the challenges and going positively forward.
Setting realistic, yet growth inspiring expectations.
Become more conscious of your thoughts and how they affect everyday outcomes. Concentrate on one empowering thought a day and observe how your focus is attracted to that subject or item.
Successful change begins one small step at a time:
Are you willing to consistently choose the positive solutions that achieve positive results?
Do you truly believe you are worthy and deserving of a life with more steps forward than backward?
Are you willing to end self-sabotage?
Remember that positive expectations take you three steps forward, negative ones are the two steps back. Don't you think it's time to hang up those shuffling shoes?


Sharon A. Michaels is an e-mentor to women who want to work for themselves. Sharon has over 20 years of business, speaking and writing experience on issues of ending self-sabotage, living in abundance and wealth and making money in network marketing. Sharon offers books, webinars and tele-conferences on how to give yourself the power to succeed.
You can learn more about Sharon Michaels at http://SharonIsMyMentor.com
Sharon A. Michaels is also the Editor of the Abundance and Wealth site on BellaOnline.com To read more of Sharon's articles and sign up for her weekly newsletter go to http://abundanceandwealth.bellaonline.com
Copyright Sharon A. Michaels - When using this article please give full credit to Sharon Michaels and use the bio as written above.
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CHANGE IS GOOD......APPRECIATE IT.

Appreciate Everything - Change

By Gayle Evans

Change. It's a charged word for some people. They may even have a physical reaction as their body acknowledges the thoughts in their heads. Resistance to change can feel like a wave of energy shooting upward from feet to head. It's purpose is to guard and protect. For the more adventurous, the thoughts are less of uncertainty than anticipation.
Change does bring us out of our comfort zone because with change comes the need to grow and adapt.
Sudden abrupt changes are the most alarming or exhilarating. We lose our familiar touchstones and must create new ones. In the meantime, we live in uncertainty. We've had no time to prepare and may need to rely on our instincts. These times can be an emotional roller coaster and some will struggle to remain stable. The experience can be frightening. Examples include unexpected loss of a loved one, employment, or health. Stressful in a different way are new love and a significant leap in income. Both require tremendous adjustments done quickly without the benefit of time to process emotions.
Ongoing changes can bring on a sense of weariness and fatigue or building anticipation. Perhaps what guides the overall tone of the change is dependent on three factors. The first is lack of say in the matter. When one is told and not allowed to offer suggestions or to be heard, feelings of helplessness or resentment may occur. The second factor is having a sense of control in guiding the change and making a contribution. The third is attitude. Willingness to stay focused on what is and consequently on what needs to be done in the present time in preparation for the future.
Appreciating change allows us the opportunity to use our energy productively. We have a sense of rising to the challenge and increasing our confidence in our ability to deal with whatever life tosses our way. We reach within to pull up our best. Resisting change is constrictive and deadens energy. It will not allow feelings of joy or aliveness.
We have little choice. Change will happen. Life is about change.
We also have tremendous choice. What we think and how we shape our attitude determines how effectively we respond to the inevitable changes. We can resist or we can appreciate everything, including change.

Gayle Evans is a nurse educator who has come to appreciate the richness and diversity of life experiences. She intends to live a very long life so she has time to do all the things she wants to do. To read more about her independent and often humorous views on life, please click on this link: http://www.chickennomore.com
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CHANGE IS GOOD........COPING

Changing Places? Coping With Current Business Uncertainty.

By Ann Clarke

If there's one thing businesses don't like, it's uncertainty. Even those that are undergoing profound changes themselves like to do their growing and changing in a relatively predictable environment. Their planning depends on it.
Which is why the current uncertainty over whether we are entering a recession or not is inherently a bad thing, regardless of the real basis for any fears of a downturn. Some have even argued that the economists and writers who habitually raise the spectre of economic cycles may actually be causing them. A perfect self-fulfilling prophecy.
Whatever its causes, the current level of uncertainty means that firms are understandably cautious, if not exactly jittery. The important thing is to never let this caution turn into paralysis. The potentially fatal consequences of treading water should always outweigh anxieties about what is yet to pass. Business decisions about growth, new product development and change should never be obstructed by fear of an uncertain future.
As a business we are used to managing change with clients. As a result, one of the things we know for certain is that when it comes to growing or changing their businesses, there is a tendency for organisations to see a move to purpose-built new offices as being a better option than improving their current workplace or refurbishing other existing space. All too often this is because they assume that they can't deal with change in an old building, be it a need to implement new technology or accommodate business growth. But they are often asking the wrong question. Instead of 'where do we go from here?' they should really ask 'should we stay or should we go?'
In most cases, both the stay option or go option can be backed up by a strong business case. This is invariably based on a wide range of factors - from the economic to the personal - each of which may have a considerable impact on the organisation. Only after careful consideration of these factors does it then become possible to make the right decision.
We need to challenge the notion that modern buildings must be better able than older buildings to meet the needs of a modern organisation. Often they are, but in many cases, older buildings can prove to be a better option.
For example, buildings that predate the widespread use of electric lighting and airconditioning may have better lighting and ventilation. They may also be more flexible in use. Modern buildings often have large floorplates, embedded services and low floor to ceiling heights which can limit their use. Older buildings are unlikely to have the same limitations so may actually be better suited to the needs of contemporary organisations.
In his book How Buildings Learn, author Stewart Brand outlines the process whereby buildings evolve over time to meet the changing needs of their occupants. He shows that intelligent renovation is just as effective and important as new design. Brand looks at the building as consisting of six layers, each of which functions on a different timescale. These range from the site itself which has a life cycle measured in centuries, through to the building (decades), interior fit out (years), technology (months), to stuff (days). An effective refurbishment or fit-out will depend on how well it resolves the tensions that exist between these different elements.
With careful planning, a focus on the organisation's strategic objectives and a multi-disciplinary approach even century-old buildings can become outstanding contemporary workplaces that can meet current needs and be flexible enough to respond to future demands. More importantly, they can even offer advantages over purpose-built new buildings in terms of cost, culture, adaptability and company image. Regardless of any ephemeral shifts in the economy, be they good or bad, firms must always build flexibility into their operations and their buildings to help them to develop on their own terms.


Ann Clarke is Design Director of Claremont Group Interiors, the UK office design company.
Claremont Group Interiors website
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