Ever heard that the only constant in life is change?
This saying speaks to the inevitability of change as it sweeps across all facets of life.
Some change is under your control, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s stress-free. Consider your career – a key part of life for most people, and one that includes ever-changing roles, often within the same organization. You might also choose to switch from one employer to another for any number of reasons. But no matter how promising the opportunity, the prospect of new management, new responsibilities and a new workplace environment is often daunting.
It’s important to remember the opportunities for personal growth that come with any new position (the same logic applies to new cities of residence, new courses of study and any number of other things). “Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won’t have a title until much later” (Bob Goff).
On your first day of a new job, you wake up with nothing but opportunity – a chance to meet new people, make a great first impression on your new supervisor and pick up new skills that may remain with you for the rest of your career!
Choosing to react
Of course, many changes we face are outside of our control, which can make them even scarier. As always, this applies to work, too.
Let’s say you’ve put in a significant amount of time and effort on a project, only for leadership to decide on a complete change of direction. There’s nothing you can do about this, right?
Not exactly. There’s nothing you can do about leadership’s decision, but you can choose how you react to it. Are you going to lament time and effort lost? Or are you going to take the change in stride and look at it as a learning opportunity?
Perhaps your work on the discarded project included a significant amount of research relevant to your role or industry. In a very literal sense, the knowledge you gained could be valuable, as it could be put to use in future projects. Just as you couldn’t predict the change of direction, you also can’t predict the opportunities that may arise later.
Keep this attitude in mind as you go about your work and life. Above all, remember to be accepting – if not thankful – for change. Without it, there is no progress, no variation from routine and no real growth!
