This was shared by Joe Dominey, Principal – Dominey & Etheridge, Midland, TX.
Perfect timing, Joe! Many are making list of those changes they are wanting for 2007, so I hope that the blog readers will take heart!
CHANGE FOR GOOD – By James Mapes
It doesn’t work to leap a twenty-foot chasm in two ten-foot jumps.” – American proverb
”Change. Change. Change. Why does everyone and everything have to change? It’s exhausting.” In one form or another, this is a comment I have heard endlessly. The real question is: How would you feel if there was never any change in your life? You would be bored out of your mind. You wouldn’t learn, you wouldn’t grow, and your brain would lose its ability to shape itself around new ideas and adapt to new challenges.
How do you adapt to new ideas and information? Are you willing to change? Would you change your behavior if your life depended on it? Would you change your lifestyle and habits if you knew, absolutely knew, that your life on this earth would be cut short if you didn’t?
If your answer is “yes,” you’re not facing reality. All you have to do is take a hard look at the field of health care to find the proof for this disturbing fact. “Study after study has shown that 90% of heart bypass patients can’t change their lifestyles, even at the risk of dying,” writes Alan Deutchman in the March 2005 issue of Fast Company Magazine.
Getting people to change their behavior is the primary challenge for every individual I coach, every company with which I work. The complex issue of changing behavior is extremely challenging, for one very simple reason: When you develop a habit, you “mold” your brain by forming new connections. The older you get, the longer you continue any behavior, the more difficult it is to change. Once your brain is “wired” for a particular habit, you will resist any change, even change that is in your best interest.
Take heart! Radical change is possible if you learn how to manage your mind. To do that, you need to dispel some myths you may be holding about the nature of change.
The first myth is that change is motivated by fear. Simply not true. Fear can jump-start change, but most people will simply resist the change or go into denial when confronted with what terrible things may happen if change doesn’t take place.
Another myth is that crisis creates permanent change. Like fear, crisis can act as a catalyst for change, but will never sustain change long-term. If most people won’t change to save their lives, how is it possible to sustain any long-term change?
Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results! Stop the insanity in 2007!
Maybe you need a mentor or a coach?
Coach Maria Elena AKA The Champion of Connections
