This makes it easy to deal with change

It’s pretty normal for things to change in your work. It also happens often. Sometimes you can do something about it because you can influence the change but usually you can’t. For example, your job or your role may change and it is far from always in the right direction. Change affects your job and it means you have to adapt. Sometimes that can be quite difficult. I have four ideas for handling change well.

1. Discover the humor of the situation

There is a funny angle to be discovered in every difficult situation. It is a great way to discover and use a new perspective in a challenging situation or problem.

A nice side note is that your humor and lightness can also make others feel better. There has even been research on this (Banton 2011).

This showed that applying and using humor (for example, a funny, witty remark) appropriate to the specific situation can greatly improve the atmosphere and enhance social interaction between people.

It is important not to exclude anyone with your humor, and obviously do it respectfully. So don’t make a joke about someone else’s ‘woes’. It’s best to take your own ‘struggles’ as the source of your humor with appropriate self-mockery.

2. Talk more about problems than feelings and emotions

I’ll let you in on a little secret. It really is a myth to think that it helps to talk a lot about your anger, fears or frustrations. Again, science shows that frequently and actively expressing and airing negative emotions hinders your natural ability to change.

Lots of brooding is a “wonderful” example of this. With brooding, you keep circling your thoughts. Of course, you shouldn’t push your emotions away completely. Above all, use them as a resource to address the problem.

Focus on the next, preferably small, concrete step to solve the problem. The problem may not be solved immediately but you will be moving forward. Don’t hesitate to talk to others about it and seek advice.

That works better because then you zoom in on the problems you can solve. That’s more convenient than continuing to moan about the problems that can’t be solved by you.

3. Stress when changing is actually ok

An upcoming change creates stress. That is certainly true. In doing so, it matters how you wish to look at your own view of stress. If you really think stress is dangerous for you then it probably will be. Your attitude and thoughts about stress affects you more than the stress itself.

You can also look at it this way: stress makes you tackle things. Sure, it’s a little outside your comfort zone but you need it to get your work done and to achieve success. If you dare to look at it this way you will develop more perseverance and maybe you will live a little longer, too.

4. Don’t expect stability

My personal view of change in an organization is that it is permanent and here to stay. That means you have to take into account that your organization is in a permanent state of change. From this perspective, it is an idea to learn from people who can handle change well and take advantage of that.

Some professionals seem so easy to deal with change. Others have much more difficulty with it. How is that even possible? What distinctions are there between these 2 groups of professionals. What can you learn from them?

People who can handle change more easy choose to view change as a logical and expected consequence of life in general. They live by the idea that in (working) life change is the only constant. They then choose to deal concretely with the opportunities presented by change.

They don’t see change as an accidental event that only causes casualties. They don’t get stuck in statements like “it was all so much better in the past.” If you linger in that you are looking for a place that no longer exists.

What’s important to you?

Being able to put things into perspective is an important aspect of dealing with change. Think about things and values that are really important to you. For example, your family, friends, great music or what you have already accomplished.

By dwelling on this, you can create a surprisingly strong buffer to deal with your challenges at work. Want to do an exercise? Spend 10 minutes writing down as much as you can about a value that is important to you and how this value has helped and influenced you in a positive way.

By describing things and values you truly believe in, you will find that these values are not affected by the the problem you are facing. This is good for your self-confidence.

In brief

Accept

I fully realize that these tips and techniques take some practice and patience. Probably some tips will appeal to you a little more than others. In any case, there is 1 thing you can do to deal more easily with change: accept it.