sometimes Change is easy but Acceptance is hard
Sometimes we have to be forced to change, to challenge the status quo or to do things differently. We have certainly seen a lot of this during this past year as many companies and individuals have been forced to change the ways in which they work, and many are reaping the benefits of these changes.
It is one thing to make the change, however it’s another thing to accept the change. Really accepting the change, not that begrudging acceptance where you are still communicating with your visible resistance that “I’m just doing this until things go back to the way they were before”. Real acceptance means that the new way becomes the go-to way, we no longer compare it in our minds, in our words or our actions. Like with the daylight savings time changes and for the first couple of days we keep saying yeah but it’s really an hour earlier or it’s really an hour later at some point we just accept that this is the real time (until it changes again).
Acceptance might mean that we have to put in new processes and practices, we may have to change behaviors, act differently, communicate differently and respond differently. If we don’t actually put anything new into place, if we don’t enable the change, the change will not last and as soon as whatever forced us into this position leaves, so will the newfound behaviours.
On Valentine’s Day I broke my wrist [better than my heart I guess …] and a week later I had surgery. Did I mention it’s my right wrist, my dominant hand and apparently the only thing I’ve ever taught my left to do in all of my years is to hold things for my right hand… I now affectionally refer to it as the ULH, the Useless Left Hand. I however have had no choice; I must use this useless appendage. I did not plan this accident to happen, it did not necessarily happen at a good time for me, in fact I was extremely busy having several client projects underway as well as several conferences, which during COVID means they are performed virtually from my living room so that means you are not just speaker but also your own AV Tech and I’m having to do it with my ULH.
I had no choice but to make the change and start using my left for things, however about three weeks in I realized that I had not yet accepted the change as I reached across my entire body to grab the mouse that is still sitting on the right hand side of my computer right next to my coffee mug that I also need to grasp with my left hand. I’m once again reminded that we teach what we need to learn. Sometimes change is easy but acceptance is hard.
