What a Week! Being Resilient Through Change
“It’s not what happens to you but how you react to it that matters.”
― Epictetus, Greek Stoic Philosopher
There has been a lot of change this week, some good, some bad. You are going through it, and so is your audience.
I know people who:
• Were fired/laid off by a radio corporation
• Are sick that Donald Trump won the presidential election
• Lost a beloved family dog
I also know people who:
• Got a new job at a radio corporation (Congratulations Ronnie Stanton!)
• Are happy that Donald Trump won the presidential election
• Adopted an animal shelter dog
Did you know that all change – good and bad – causes significant stress on health?
As I lead leadership training, we talk about a fancy-schmancy psychological principle developed in 1967 called the Social Readjustment Rating Scale.
It says the average person has 10-20 major events in their lifetime that can lead to depression, hospitalizations, illness, breakdowns, broken relationships, and worse.
Scientists rated the stress of various life events on a 0-100 scale. These events can be both positive and negative.
A happy event like a marriage is 50. An unhappy event like job separation is 47. (Layoffs at a company cause stress for the people not separated from their jobs, too.)
Death of a loved one is 100 on the scale. Ever know an elderly person who passed away and their partner passed away right after? Stress can lead to death.
Sometimes, multiple major positive and negative life events happen quickly, adding cumulative points to your stress scoreboard.
A helpful first step in minimizing damage to your life and career from the stress of major life changes is to understand that everyone goes through change in the same stages:
• First shock: extreme excitement at good news, numbness, disbelief at bad news
• Adjustment: honeymoon period for good news, minimizing or denial for bad news
• Inner contradiction: for both positive and negative change, expect to feel uncertainty, loss of confidence, and depression
• Crisis: a fork in the road where you can quit, walk away, or move forward. If you do nothing, the crisis will continue.
• Reconstruction/recovery: When you begin experimenting, testing, exploring, and accepting your new post-change reality, you start to feel a new confidence and, eventually, transformation.
Yes, the events of the past week and the future changes in your life can transform you into a new version of yourself.
No matter what else anyone else says or does, no matter what crazy shit hits the fan in your world, you get to choose who you will be.
Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash
