“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” ~ Charles Darwin

Change happens around us every day. Yet, why do many people fear change?  We get into comfortable ruts! When something takes us out of our comfort zones - job loss, geographic move - we feel uncomfortable because we must adjust to a different situation. 

We can learn from adversity or change if we look at lessons with open minds. Winston Churchill said: “A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty”.

Eastern thinkers believe everything in life is impermanent. When we accept the fact that nothing lasts forever, we're equipped to manage changes. Therefore, enjoy good times, and remember challenging times are temporary. 

How well do you adapt to change?

Answer yes or no:
1. I'm self-reliant, resilient, flexible
2. I like learning, challenge 
3. I like stability, structure, predictability
4. I'm cautious, dislike fast-paced environments
5. I value growth over security
6. I adapt quickly to new situations
7. I dislike variety
8. I'm bothered when something interrupts routine
9. I like trying new things
10. I handle stress well
11. I get frustrated with time pressures
12. I like doing things the same way.

Scoring: 1 point for each yes to 1, 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10; and each no to 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 and 12. To empower yourself to manage change, consider suggestions below.

Adapting to change

Since changes occur in most aspects of our lives, we can learn to respond to change with positive anticipation, believing change brings new opportunities.

View career growth as a lifelong process of personal and professional development – a continuing quest to maintain harmony between who you are and what you do. 

- Take responsibility for your career. Create new opportunities with your current or another employer. Consider time out, full or part-time study, travel or self employment.

- Identify personal and transferable skills. These enable you to perform in varied situations. Employers value adaptive skills like openness to ideas, persistence, critical evaluation, enthusiasm, helpfulness, patience, optimism and tolerance. 

- Strengthen "meta skills." These skills for tomorrow can’t be easily automated. They include problem solving, research, judgment, inspiration, relationship building, ethical leadership, mental training and emotional intelligence. 

Continuously update technical and professional skills and strengthen Quester qualities like authenticity, purpose, risk, confidence and resilience.

- Cultivate and use intuition. Intuitive skills help you deal with ambiguous circumstances. Practice relaxation to slow your mind and listen to inner signals. Ask dreams for direction before going to sleep. Keep a journal. Pray. Communicate with nature.   

- Continue to learn. Lifelong learning is the ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for personal, interpersonal, leisure, health, spiritual or professional reasons. Workshops, online courses, night school, apprenticeship programs, and correspondence school offer programs. Some learning activities are recognized by traditional educational institutions and may be called adult education.

- Think critically. Critical thinkers ask questions, evaluate, categorize, and find relationships. To read critically, ask: What are main points? Can I put this into my own words? Is a bias apparent? Could a different conclusion be drawn? Are ideas supported by evidence? Do I agree with the author? What are implications?

- Strengthen creativity. Approach the problem from different angles. Ask for feedback from people with different backgrounds. Avoid negativity. View work differently. What would happen if you shrink, enlarge or change its shape? 

Surround yourself with diverse stimuli.  Seek information outside your specialty. Awaken your child within. Play. Believe anything is possible.

Expand your horizons. Go beyond borders. Prepare for and welcome the unexpected.  Innovate, adapt, explore, seize opportunities. Nothing is beyond reach! Follow examples of the Questers in "Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life” - available for purchase at link above.

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. ~  John F. Kennedy