Active pursuit of change

Many people think they are not resistant to change. No one would like to be labeled as “change-resistant”. It seems like we are becoming more educated to know that resisting change is not good if the change is positive. Meanwhile, I observed that the challenge is not really about people deliberately standing in the way of change. It is more about people not embracing change. It is not about resistance but about lack of support for, and a passive approach to change. The reality is that change is a fundamental law of life. I have always maintained the position that each one of us should step forward to create the change that we would like to see in the world. There is no point in waiting for change to happen such that we can go with the flow or ride on the wind. Rather, we can be deliberate in what change we want and then work toward making it happen.

I learned something profound in studying the technology adoption curve, which is a model that can be used to represent the uptake of a new technology. This curve or model has five zones that represent different categories of people. There are the innovators, the early adopters, the early majority, the late majority, and the laggards. Innovators are the change makers, those who create the future that everyone will live. Early adopters are trail blazers, those who lead the way by their willingness to try something new. The early majority and late majority are more risk-averse, those who wait to be sure things will work. The laggards are skeptics, who come too late to the game. I challenge you to be an innovator, or at least be part of the early adopters. Waiting for change to happen may mean that we become victims of the change.
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Change is happening all around us. The question is not whether we will be impacted by the change or not but rather what we will do proactively to prepare for and lead the change. Our collective future requires an active pursuit of change rather than a passive approach to change. How would you ensure that you stay on top of change?

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Actions for the week

1. Evaluate yourself. Are you someone who waits for change to happen or someone who create the change they want to see?
2. Determine to lead change instead of waiting for change to happen to you. Be in charge of your own future.
3. Share this message with those in your circle.

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A quote to remember
"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new" – Dan Millman

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​Until another time,
Dele Ola, Award-Winning Author of Be A Change Agent
​Click HERE to learn about and get copies of Dele’s Books