Change is inevitable. No matter how hard one fights this sometimes-scary scenario, it will happen, and we can either accept it or be lost fighting it. On Monday, we posted a TED Talk that focused on adaptability.  It discussed how what makes a great startup is if the person in charge can adapt to any scenario, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The video then challenged us to evaluate how handle change individually. The three ways to test adaptability in the video were visualization, the ability to unlearn, and exploration.

            Now, these seem super in depth to the human brain and how we operate as individuals. Therefore, I think advice on how to adapt can be simplified even more beyond these two techniques.

  1. Embracing change.

This is not the easiest pill to swallow. It is scientifically proven that when we are in a situation that is comfortable and easy, we do not want to change it. You probably are recalling the old saying “If it’s not broken, why fix it?”. But the hard fact of the matter is, situations are going to change, no matter what. And the worst part is that even if it is a positive change, it will always make us uncomfortable.

A great example is here at TJS we are developing a new computer program that every employee works in. Whether it be accounting, sales, service, everyone is using it all day every day. The fact that the program is still being developed has made the change hard, the fact that the previous system was used for twenty years made the change, you guessed it, hard.

Therefore, it is our job as employees and even in our personal lives, to embrace change and ride its rollercoaster. It is not easy, and sometimes it is not fun, but the less we fight against it, the better the outcome will be the easier everything becomes.

  1. Positivity over negativity.

When the situation of change presents itself, we instinctively go to the negative aspects of the change. Examples are “This will make my job so much harder” or “This is just another thing I have to add to my to-do list”. But what if we flipped our mindset, what if we stopped complaining about the negatives, embraced them and discussed the positives. Easier said than done, but it will make the change for you smoother.

So instead of complaining about the immediate change talk about the future: “This may be difficult to do now, but it will be great when I have learned the process and it makes me better at my job”.  When we approach new obstacles with positivity, it changes the way we feel and act. According to Meteor Education, when we think positive thoughts serotonin will be released which helps us function at a higher level of responsiveness. Therefore, making us better at our jobs and better equipped to handle change.