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Managing Change: Seeing Opportunities as Well as Dangers
In business settings and popular psychology, how many of us
have been introduced to the idea that the Chinese characters
for "danger" and "opportunity", combined
together, convey the concept of change or crisis?
Change is a fact of life, and it occurs more and more frequently.
Knowing how to handle change quickly and successfully is truly
a survival skill. Health experts say that even changes which
may be viewed as positive - a vacation, a marriage, the birth
of a child, a promotion or new job - are causes of stress.
Many of us would love to make life less stressful, and are
constantly seeking better ways to adapt to change. Perhaps
that's the reason why thinking in terms of "dangers"
and "opportunities" is so popular.
What does it take to make the shift from seeing only the
dangers to finding the opportunities?
When first encountering a change, we move to survival mode
and tend to see only the dangers or negatives. A reorganization
at work may cause worry about upcoming layoffs or reassignment
of responsibilities, loss of colleagues and good working relationships,
concern about longer work hours. Or when beginning a new job,
the fear creeps in and the questions abound: Will I like my
new coworkers? Boss? Company? Can I really do the job? Should
have stayed at my old job? Closer to home, the last child
leaving for college may trigger a parent's worries about him
finding his place on campus, making new friends, staying safe
and even doing his laundry correctly.
Most people find that as time passes, their perspective begins
to shift as the potential danger diminishes and they begin
to see the opportunities the change might present. The positive
aspects become more apparent when a sense of what is within
one's control is reestablished. The response may move from
worry to thoughts more like these: This restructuring gives
me a chance to develop new expertise. I have a shorter commute
to my new job. It may be good for my spouse and me to have
more time for ourselves.
Maybe the dual aspects of danger and opportunity are so appealing
to our culture because it helps to have a framework to view
our situations. And if the pace of change continues at the
predicted rate, we may be healthier and happier if we guide
ourselves to become people who can look at a glass of water
and see it as half-full rather than half-empty. Surround yourself
with those "glass half-full" people who have realistic
yet positive outlooks on life. Together challenge yourselves
to heed the dangers while discovering the opportunities.
© Copyright 2009, Career Vision. Article may be reprinted
with permission.
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