Why is change so hard for people and organizations?
We have a world of knowledge about what works and what doesn't work. Yet, when we try to apply a change process to ourselves or our organization, we often have difficulty turning that knowledge into behavior.
Change is a natural part of life. Evolutionary change is happening every second of every day. Revolutionary change happens on occasion, often brought about by some external event. Revolutionary change happens when the threat is great and the fear is building.
The definition of disruption is "a problem or action that interrupts something and prevents it from continuing." Before we choose to initiate a change, our thinking needs to be disrupted in some way, usually by an external event. The essence of a disruption that enables change lies in asking yourself the question: can I afford to ignore this?
A disruptive event is an awakening, an unexpected jolt that gains the attention of your working memory and the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, the brain region linked to self-control. Disruption is the first step in making change.
Although it prompts initial discomfort and even confusion, disruption is essential to growth and learning. Disruptive events build on our self-awareness. Once you have become aware of a need for change and made a conscious choice to address it, then the next step is to have the desire to achieve it, the belief in yourself that you can do it, and the focus to make it happen.
Determination is absolutely necessary if your are to overcome obstacles in your change journey. No matter how focused and disciplined you are, you may get sick, have an unexpected work emergency, or experience personal problems that interfere with your progress. Setbacks will happen, and when they do, you need to have determination (defined as "firmness of purpose; resoluteness").
Resilience is essential in times of change. You can put some healthy habits in place as a matter of routine that will help you increase your resilience quotient and will stand you in good stead in times of stress caused by change.
Bottom Line: Change takes determination. However, determination is less about the one grand gesture and more about the small, daily, quiet steps of courage that lead to a larger, more visible result.
Understanding that you will have setbacks and failures in your pursuit of change can be liberating. Awareness of the process of change and the confusion that is a natural part of any transition frees you to keep focused and determined to achieve your goal.
Source: Walter McFarland: Choosing Change: How Leaders and Organizations Drive Results One Person at a Time