Recently I had the honor to speak with International Keynote Speaker, Life Coach & Author, Celeste Jonson, CEO of Celeste Jonson International and COO of Les Brown Enterprises. It was a timely conversation given the circumstances we are dealing with currently. The #COVID19 virus has definitely affected us all, in one way or another. With it, changes to the way we operate. Practically everything has been affected. The way we work, socialize, teach, learn, shop, communicate, exercise...and the list goes on. Practically every part of our lies have been put under the spotlight. We have been tasked to deal with Change.
“How do I manage change? The simple answer is, I embrace Change” Celeste Jonson
As Celeste highlights, so many people struggle with change due to the fact that they resist change, which over time drains ones energy. Resisting change does not help and changing one's approach to embrace rather than resist change can lead help tremendously. As Quincy Jones' song 'Everything Must Change' which goes, 'Everything must change...nothing stays the same'. This is a fact of Life. That everything will and must change. If we were to ask ourselves 'Is there any part of my life that I would like to be better, or have more of, say a better career, or relationship, or even more money?', and if the answer is 'Yes!', then by default we have to accept that things need to change from our current circumstances in order for us to have 'more of' or 'improvement in' something. So on that premise, change is needed in our lives if we are to move forward. As a famous Albert Einstein quote goes 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results'. Celeste also points out, 'If nothing changes, nothing changes'. Read that again. 'If nothing changes, nothing changes'.
Making Change our 'friend' rather than 'foe' moves us into a different way of approaching Life.
At the same time, it is important to leverage change. Now there are two types of change. The first is the types of change which is 'self initiated'. These are changes which begin with us. They are instigated by us. For example, a decision to change your career path, to start up a new business to loose weight. These types of change usually are pre-empted by us after some time thinking and making a decision to change. They are also usually associated with a degree of self-awareness, hence the decision to take make a change comes from our own self. Of course there will be challenges along the way but it is something that we understand is of our own making. The second type of change is one which we have no control over. It is something which we may say is 'imposed' onto us. It is something which is beyond our control. A clear example is the #COVID19 pandemic which is affecting us globally. This has created big changes for us all and been something which is beyond our control. It is a type co change which is imposed on us. Our 'normal' ways of operating; working, going to school, socializing etc. has been altered.
A good way to address imposed change is to acknowledged the change and look at it from a point of view; that there are things which we can control, and others which we are not able to. The next step is to recognize it as change which is outwith our control. The key here is that we have control over how we deal with the imposed change. Resisting it, frustrating it and being angry about the change will not help us in the long run. In fact it may even affect our mental and physical well being through stress and reduction in our immunity. Focus our attention and energy into the things that we can control and in doing so, we release ourselves from the negative impact of imposed change. How do we do this? Pay attention to our time and what we do with it. Put our focus there. That's how we can reclaim ownership of control over change. For example there will be things in and around our home which we've always wanted to improve but never had the time to, like improving the decor or de-cluttering our home. Well, now's a perfect time to do it! This is a way we can leverage change. For it to work for you rather than against you. Focus on the things that we can do and those are the things for us to do. Finally, let those things that you can't do anything about, go.
This post has is based on my conversation with Celeste Jonson. The full conversation can be watched here. I hope that you have found this helpful. Please share it with someone who you think may find it beneficial. Let's support each other during these challenging times. My sincere gratitude and love to you. #StaySafe and #StayHealthy. Kamil.
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