Resistance to change: how do we overcome it?
Many people claim to feel satisfied with their lives, and so are reluctant to engage change. But even when we aren’t that happy with the way things are now, we often avoid doing them differently. In fact, science has now confirmed that our brain circuitry, in its default position on auto-pilot, functions to keep us maintaining the status quo. That is, as human beings, we are hard-wired to resist change wherever possible!
Unfortunately for our resistant parts, the world is always changing around us, so even if we don’t wish to move, life forces our hand. Embracing change empowers us to act from a position of strength, rather than feeling victimised by it. But while it’s ultimately rewarding to welcome change pro-actively, it requires us to give up our sense of “the way it was s’pozed to be.”
Our quest for a hardy, robust way of being, then, must at the very least involve an ongoing review of which adaptations we are needing to make, and what tools (that is, understandings, attitudes, and skills) we shall need in order to do that. We want to know what supports we will need in the process. Then, when our “reptilian” brain – the primitive part which gets activated in response to perceived threat – kicks in, we stand a much greater chance of responding resiliently, with awareness.
How aware are you of which
resilience skills you have ready to pull out of your psychological toolkit at a
moment’s notice? How do you know which
one(s) will be effective in a given situation? Are there some you know that you “should” have, but don’t feel
comfortable using? You can change that.
I can help you explore how you do personal change management, and what styles of resilience you tend to use. Contact me today for a personal session, and never let forced change unravel you again.