No matter who you are, change is a constant in life. You can’t avoid it, and you can’t run from it. The only thing you can do is learn how to embrace change and master it.
When it comes to identifying change, it takes a lot of courage and honesty with oneself.
Over the course of my journey, I have read and researched many different areas that surround the field of sports psychology. In all of my research conducted, I’ve come to the terms with five simple guidelines for mastering any change in your life. I wish I could take the credit for these five guiding principles but I can’t. These came from Mastery by George Leonard.
Five Guidelines to Mastering Any Change
- Be aware of how homeostasis works
- Be willing to negotiate with your resistance to change
- Develop a support system
- Follow a regular practice
- Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning
Beware of how homeostasis works:
Leonard describes homeostasis as the ability to expect resistance and backlash and that it’s the tendency to resist change in order to maintain a stable, relatively constant internal environment. Homeostasis typically involves negative feedback loops that counteract changes of various properties from their target values, known as set points. So change, by definition, is something that our bodies are wired to resist.
Be willing to negotiate with your resistance to change:
The key here is to become aware of the fact that you have a resistance to change and be willing to negotiate with it. What are you resisting? Why? Is there a way to work with your resistance instead of subjecting yourself to the hiccups they bring? Break change into manageable chunks:The change doesn’t have to be all or nothing. In fact, it’s often easier to make small changes that you can build on over time. Growing up I have always heard the saying “you’ll go nowhere too fast” and this is exactly what we are doing when we rush the process it takes to achieve.
Develop a support system:
When you’re trying to make a change, it’s important to have a supportive network. This could be friends, family, co-workers or even an online community. These people will help you stay accountable and motivated. A lot of time we think we can do everything on our own with no support system, but let’s be honest, every now and then, everyone needs a cheerleader just to hear those “you got this” or “keep pushing” words of encouragement. As much as we don’t like to admit it, we do sometimes seek assurance from others to remind us that our reward is all worth fighting for in the process.
Follow a regular practice:
As we all know and as previously stated, change can be difficult, but if you break it down into small pieces, it becomes more manageable. Change is a learning process and like any skill, the more you practice, the better you become at it. Set realistic goals: change can be daunting and if your goal is too big, you’re likely to get discouraged and give up. so look to set goals that are small and achievable. Change your mindset: this is probably the most important one of all. if you change the way you think about change, it becomes less daunting and more exciting. View it as an opportunity to learn and grow rather than a threat. take baby steps: just like setting realistic goals, taking small steps will help you get through.
And lastly,
Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning:
Change is a never-ending journey. In Mark 9:23 Jesus said “ if you can believe, all things are possible to them that believe. There will always be something new to learn. If you can commit to learning and growing, change will become much easier for you. It’s easy to say you want to learn, but positioning yourself in the environments that will open up those opportunities requires a great level of being teachable. so be teachable in all things!
I hope these five tips help you next time you’re facing change. Remember, it’s not as scary as it seems! Change can be a good thing and an opening for great opportunities. I’m a huge fan of change myself, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Just take it one step at a time, and be patient with the learning process. Change can be scary but if you face it head-on, you’ll come out the other side a better person for having gone through it.
Let’s master change together starting today!
Super Dave