Module Three – Seeing Change Differently
Welcome to Module Three of the coaching program on
Thriving in Change
If you haven’t completed the previous modules, you can find them here: Module One and Module Two.
The transition process for change is really about recognizing that even though change can happen fairly quickly as an external event in your life, the internal process of dealing with that change happens at a much different pace and requires a whole different set of needs.
If you approach change and think that all it takes is dealing with the external aspects of change - the event itself - and ignore what’s happening within you as a reaction to change, then the change you experience will be more difficult to transition through, accept, and ultimately grow from.
Dealing successfully with change requires a new perspective. Let’s look at this next.
Viewing a basketball game from stadium seats gives a very different impression than viewing it from on the court, or even from the corporate boxes. This different perspective allows you to see things you may not have seen before.
Similarly, viewing a forest from a cliff provides a very different experience than viewing it from the ground among the trees. Changing your vantage point can help change your perspective.
The same can be said of change. Seeing a change from different perspectives can challenge your belief that a change is hard, negative, or not as good as your current situation.
It is important to explore a variety of perspectives of a change event, and choose the ones that support your most positive development.
Change is the way to personal development. Looking at it from this perspective may not make experiencing change any easier, but it will certainly help you navigate through its transition more effectively.
Activity Worksheet 3Download and print out worksheet 3 – “What Change is Happening to Me?”
Review the worksheet and answer the two questions listed. Then return to this module.
“Out with the old!” The act of letting go includes giving up old ways of viewing ourselves and our lives. Often, though, we don’t allow for a new identity to enter in because the tearing away of an old identity doesn’t feel like growth.
This ‘tearing down’ is hard because it goes against the grain of seeing growth as a process of adding on to what you already are. The idea of taking away first for growth to happen feels foreign. But growth and development are not always an ‘additive’ process. Sometimes it will require you to take a step backwards before you can take steps forward.”