Change Isn’t Always A Bad Thing

“Change is the only constant in life.”  Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, said that centuries ago, and it’s a pretty common saying.  Why are people still so resistant to change, though?  You would think that we’d embrace it by now, but most of us can attest to the fact that change isn’t commonly welcomed in most people’s lives and especially not in the workplace.  Change isn’t always a bad thing, though.  I’ll actually go out on a limb and say that most of the time, change is for the best.  Think back over your life.  Would you have ever gotten that promotion if you hadn’t made some significant changes?  Would you have completed that project without having to change something?  Would you have started your company without changing your mind about entrepreneurship?  I bet the answer to all those questions is “No” because one thing is certain.  Change is the necessary precursor to progress.  You cannot get better at anything if changes aren’t made.  

These past two years of pandemic life have certainly proven that.  Yes, there have been many unpleasant effects of living life during a pandemic, but look at all the progress that has come from this trying time.  Girls in Tech shared a publication entitled Tech Trends 2022 in which the editors declared that because of the increased dependence on IT teams to make working from home possible, enterprises are now “looking to their tech teams to drive the next round of innovation: to discover the mountains beyond and move those too.”  That sounds like opportunity and progress to me.  There are hundreds of companies who have now found that employee morale and productivity have gone up with the option to work fully remote or some type of hybrid home/office option, all thanks to the knowledge and skills of tech workers.  Before the challenges of Covid-19, some companies had been slowly exploring and embracing remote work, but it is clear that the progress in the tech space with respect to remote work definitely would not have been possible without the pandemic forcing us into that situation.  

That’s just one of many examples of how change hasn’t been so bad, specifically in regards to the pandemic.  Here’s a challenge for you.  Take inventory of your life at this moment, both professionally and personally.  If you are confronted with some unwanted changes right now, try to think of ways in which this change can be a positive one.  Then, face the change with a different, more optimistic perspective.  You might find out that change isn’t always a bad thing.