Too often, the fear of change — or uncertainty — keeps us from moving forward. Familiarity equals comfort, but it doesn’t usually translate to progress.
Seth Godin has a way of summing these things up neatly or, at least, of presenting his thoughts in a way that makes ME think about how I feel about the way that things work … and the way that they should.
Change is a requirement of progress. You can not move forward without it. Change does not always lead to progress, however, so ‘change for the sake of change’ is never a good strategy.
But getting out of your comfort zone is. Once you accept the status quo, progress is over.
Those are my thoughts. Here are some of the questions that Seth advises us to ask ourselves when confronted with a new idea. Do we:
- Consider the cost of switching before we consider the benefits?
- Highlight the pain to a few instead of the benefits for the many?
- Exaggerate how good things are now in order to reduce your fear of change?
- Grab onto the rare thing that could go wrong instead of amplifying the likely thing that will go right?
- Focus on short-term costs instead of long-term benefits?
- Embrace an instinct to accept consistent ongoing costs instead of swallowing a one-time expense?
- Compare the best of what we have now with the possible worst of what a change might bring?
Get uncomfortable and keep moving forward! … Lori Martinek, Branding Expert & Author, https://edcgrow.com