7 Steps For Overcoming Personal Resistance To Change

1. Allow yourself to feel your emotions and recognize them as protective, self-preserving signals from your subconscious.

2. Accept your emotional reaction to change and give your feelings expression. Expressing your feelings is healthy, as long as it is not at anyone else’s expense. Cry if you are sad, laugh if you are joyous, and scream if you feel frustrated (you may want to consider screaming into a pillow or when you are alone in your car!). Talk to someone you trust, or write or “jou
al” if that is more your style. You need to give yourself the opportunity to release emotional energy before you can get logical and practical about the change.

3. Explore the messages your emotions are bringing to you. Ask, “What are my feelings telling me?” Be nonjudgmental and honest with yourself—especially when you examine your negative emotions.

4. Write down your hopes as well as your fears and conce
s in a jou
al or on a piece of paper. Things are a lot less scary when they are not whirling aimlessly in your head. Sometimes your fears have no base in reality, but you can’t see that until you look at them closely.

5. Write down your questions about the change and try to find out the answers to as much of them as you can. Remember—less “unknown” means less “fear”!

6. Study what you have written. Doubtless all the outcomes you consider are possible—but which ones are most probable? Identify and focus on those that are likely to happen and let go of the far-fetched conce
s for now.

7. Prepare yourself the best way you can for the likely outcomes. Control and influence what you can in the process and let go of the rest. There is no point in wasting energy on something you cannot do anything about. Make a transition plan that considers all your options, your support system, and your behavioral response to change.

Excerpt from "Change Thrivers—Your Resource Guide for Making Change Work"
www.ChangeThriversBook.comn