No doubt you’ve heard this famous quote, “change your thoughts and you change your world” which is attributed to the late Norman Vincent Peal, author of “The Power of Positive Thinking”.
In fact I believe that learning to change our thoughts is an important key to coping with change.
Our challenge as leaders is to help our people understand and implement this truth.
Smart managers and executives know that coping with change presents enormous challenges for most of us, and so put supports in place to help their most valuable asset – their people – to adapt.
This support could take the form of making a psychologist available (perhaps through an EAP – Employee Assistance Program) – and that is because a psychologist is uniquely trained to help guide people through the minefield of change.
Why is Change so Challenging?
Every one of us operates at some level on automatic assumptions and limiting beliefs, that were formed at different critical times throughout our lives.
If year after year we neglect to consciously examine “how” and “why” we are holding onto these assumptions and beliefs, we run the risk of stagnating – or even being passed by, as everything else changes around us. Outdated and irrational beliefs (that may once have made sense) are now no longer serving our purposes.
Worse still, we can be completely unaware that we are filtering the world through a lens clouded by our previous beliefs, perceptions and experiences and therefore missing out – we fail to realise that all too often, CHANGE is actually a CHANCE – to create a better way!
When we neglect re-examining our thinking, and consciously making an effort to adapt or let things go, then we become stressed, anxious, sick, unhappy and stuck. Metaphorically speaking the skill is to either psychologically “Adapt or Die”! (And as I shared in my post, “A Leadership Story”, the last thing a leader wants is to see their people die!)
Remember: Change Your Thoughts and You’ll Change the World!
The good news is that the creative tension of unwanted and unexpected change in a person’s life, can actually be harnessed into new ideas and growth strategies using advanced positive psychology techniques.
As leaders, we have an active interest in how our people are coping (especially in the midst of the sweeping changes associated with COVID-19).
If you have noticed that you or your team are struggling to cope with change, as an executive coach and an endorsed Organisational Psychologist, this is an area I am more than qualified to help you with. I encourage you to get in touch.
Oh, and one final word – if you find yourself resisting this thought (to get in touch): remember, Change Your Thoughts and You’ll Change the World … so take a bold step, get in contact, and get the support you (and your team) deserve!
Or perhaps you would first just love to gauge how you are currently tracking along your own path to becoming an Extraordinary, Inspirational, Next Generational Leader: then please click here to utilise our free self-rating questionnaire!
