Life will never again be as we knew it before 2020. Each of us has to make an intentional choice to embrace and activate change to consistently drive an energetic culture of progress.
We’re in a new year filled with new hope and excitement. The biggest of these is to see the plethora of opportunities ahead of us and to really face change as a culture that we can intentionally own vs an event that we are continually reacting to.
Notwithstanding the many real and hard realities of 2020, I cannot help but also reflect on the positives of the year. The shift in the status quo of: work, education models, healthcare, entertainment, travel, interactions between friends, family and strangers, and the staggering acceptance and growth of new technologies – have far accelerated any we have seen in history.
More adaptable to change than we may think
These shifts have all been so encouraging. Why? Because it tells me, that as human beings, we are more adaptable to change than we may think; that change can in fact be as good as a holiday; and that living a life of too much predictability can be somewhat mundane.
2020 was in many ways a mysterious door opening to ‘what could be’ – if only we allow our minds and emotions to wander out of their comfort zones and think of the ordinary, in not so ordinary ways.
Change is not so much about what happens to us, but rather how we react to it. Our dear friend Cassandra Worthy so aptly tagged ‘emotion’ as a gift – signaling us into our greatest moments of opportunity. Opportunity to choose how we will maximize the moment. I LOVE that. It says so much about how you deal with and own change.
There was never a promise that we would live in a constant state of certainty or harmony. But one thing is for sure – you can 100% choose how you react to the things that are thrown at you in life. Everything is a choice. And, if you choose to live in a world where you actively step into change/fear of the unknown, vs reacting to it /running from it, you are always going to be in a place of control, enjoyment, peace, and freedom.
“How are you adapting to change? Are you seeing change through a proactive or reactive lens? Are you owning or being owned by change?”
Duncan Wardle – Ex-Head of Innovation and Creativity at The Walt Disney Company – really drilled down deeply into a strong belief of mine as a Communications and Brand positioning professional – and that is – Change has to be a culture in a company. It has to be part of the DNA of the organization’s everyday life, and it has to be led from the top. Never truer words said.
A culture of constantly activating change
Imagine a world where your CEO is driving a culture of ‘constantly activating change’. This is a culture that says: let’s not be complacent for one moment; let’s be curious and constantly learning; let’s not claim to have all the answers, let’s welcome new and diverse ideas; and let’s own the future rather than reacting to what is thrown at us.
I closed 2020 really thinking about how I go into this new year. We can choose to say, 2020 is behind us and let’s get back to normal, or we can choose to say, we learned SO much in that strange year and all the changes that it brought with it – and wow – did it ever stretch our thinking, our status quo and levels of complacency to really look at the world through a different lens in 2021.
Stop waiting for life to get ‘back to normal’
The world is not going to stop changing. Life today, in January 2021, is laying the foundation for what lies ahead. What are we going to build upon that foundation? Each of us has to make an intentional, personal choice to embrace and activate this change to drive an energetic culture of progress and well being.
If you want to learn more about how you can make change more intentional in your life and business, you can download 7 Leadership Lessons on Owning Change. These lessons are from great change cultivators and leaders from diverse industries across the globe; who have truly embraced and owned change as they proactively forge new paths and ways of doing things.
Tap into their proven insights and stories which deliver valuable learnings to help you be a better leader and activator of change in a new year filled with opportunity.
Download 7 Leadership Lessons on Owning Change for 2021
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