Resistance to Change

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Nita Mohapatra, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

When we are flexing the change muscle there might be some resistance. This resistance presents itself in the form of very strong negative emotions, downright denial, or avoidance. Let’s explore a few reasons why we resist and ways to embrace change.

Think of a time when you were resistant. Recently, I received a new phone as a gift. The Samsung Galaxy Edge 7 which is a great Android phone with so many features. I am super thrilled but as an iPhone user for the last 10 years there is some resistance. This is what I’ve learned about my own resistance curve.

1) Unchartered territory- The device is completely foreign to me. I don’t recognize any of the icons and I feel it isn’t user friendly. I realized quickly this is just my own bias and a story I’m making up because it’s new and more enhanced than what I’m used to. I decide I needed a new perspective on what this phone means to me. I’m grateful for such a nice gift and the advanced features are easy if I learn them. Do you have a negative view on the change you are resistant to? I know you can quickly think of the negatives but in doing this change what are some benefits for you? There will be a few benefits so be honest with yourself.

2) Loss of productivity- When transferring my information to the new phone my calendar has gone out of order. I don’t know why but timings for meetings have been changed. I felt overwhelmed by this but I remind myself with change there can be kinks that need to be sorted out. I realize I need to spend a bit of time to make sure the transfer has worked properly. Have you set aside time to make sure the change is integrated seamlessly into your life?

3) Short term vision- Finally, I realized I was concentrating on the short-term pain versus the long-term gain. In only thinking about how this change is affecting me right now blocked me from even seeing any of the benefits. Are you thinking about the long-term affects of this change?

So the key learning lesson to accept change:
Shift perspective to be grateful to learn something new.
Take time to make sure the change is executed seamlessly.
Think about the long-term affects of the change.