Are you Resistant to Change?

Now in this article I will really put myself on the line because I am terribly guilty of being resistant to change. Change isn’t always good but it is good most of the time. I like to feel like I have mastered my daily routine which is the exact cause of my problem. We like routine because it gives us a sense of comfort. Living an ordered routine like is easy because it seems to put us in control of our situation. When change happens it upsets the apple cart and confuses our ordered mentality.

This has to be frustrating to the manager or supervisor who has to manage or lead people when they fight against the things which would make the job more efficient. The confident person or supervisor welcomes change as a challenge and endorses it. The employee who resists his efforts has to be his or her biggest nightmare. Employees who have been on the job for quite a while will be the biggest problem. They won’t understand the direction that the company wishes to go in which necessitates the change. This only serves to make things worse. They probably won’t understand because they are workers and their focus is on the day to day operation and routine which they follow.

We are creatures of habit and whenever there is an attempt to break a pattern it will be met with resistance. It just goes against the grain of our nature to change. We find our security in the day to day operation that we follow and the life that we live. Many times change may seem silly. I speak from experience here because I have talked so many times myself about how stupid I thought a new policy was or would be.

This was definitely not wise for me and it is not wise for you also when your boss is the one pushing the change. There will always be glitches in any new program or system. When we who are resisting the change give it a half hearted effort we doom it to failure and then we say that we knew that it wouldn’t work. Another reason that I fought change in the workplace so hard is that I was a little lazy. I didn’t want to take on any project which would cause me to have to put in extra work. Positive change requires work. One thing that I have finally learned is that the extra work done in the beginning will save a multitude of time and trouble in the long run. This reality appeals to the lazy part of my character which seeks to not have any work to do.

Another part of resisting change may also be that we want to have our own way. When I look back I think many times I resisted the change so that it would go away. I was hoping that if I could sabotage the program it would be abandoned in lieu of the status quo. In reality this never worked so I guess all I did was to just beat my own head against the proverbial wall.

I am learning to embrace change but I still have a way to go. Now that I am a businessman I have had to change much of my thinking. I am learning that I have to be fluid and roll with my environment.

I am a retailer and I have had to learn that fads, fashions, and people’s tastes will change. The successful business person is the person who knows how to ride a trend until it is just about to die and then jump onto the next one. I was limiting my very life by being so resistant to change. Learn from my mistakes and be ready to accept good change when it comes. Riceland Enterprises