In order to master change, your initial response should be, “I can swallow this.”

When I was a young boy, my mother made me take cod liver oil. She would literally hold my nose and put the spoon in my mouth. Still, I was the one who had to swallow it and let me tell you, that was not easy! I always had to have something to drink immediately afterward to get the nasty taste out of my mouth.

Think of swallowing forced change in the same way. Yes, it smells and tastes awful, but ultimately, we must surrender to it if we are going to move on. Otherwise, we never stop tasting it as it just sits in our mouth.

3 Responses – Will You Master Change?

1. Compromise

Some people refuse to swallow change and try instead to compromise. Instead of accepting the change, they merely put up with it and resign themselves to minimizing its effect on their lives.

They do not grow through change, they grow around it. That is not how you master change. The only way to come out the other side is to accept it, work through it, and continue to grow.

2. Endure

Another response people give to change is to just endure it. When enduring, people fight change by simply waiting for things to go back to the way they were. Their theory is that, in time, all will pass and return to normal; therefore, they take no proactive action in their circumstances.

This isn’t the proper way to master change either because you cannot outlast change. The truth is, it’s impossible to go through change totally unaffected. It will show up in your life one way or another unless you deal with it properly.

3. Resist

Sometimes, people choose an even more difficult response to change: denial. Resisting or avoiding change occurs when a person denies that a change has even occurred or admits that it has occurred but ignores its effects.

I knew a couple who avoided resolving fights by acting like the other person wasn’t even in the room. By avoiding the change, they put off the inevitable event of having to address the original source of conflict. The best course of action in any negative situation is to face it squarely in the face and then choose your best response.

Positive Ways to Deal with Change

Now that I’ve told you the common mistakes people make during a change, I want to give you positive ways of dealing with it. This way, you can truly master change in your life.

First, acknowledge the change really happened. You can not deal with change effectively until you’ve acknowledged its existence. Secondly, evaluate the change. Take time to ask yourself some questions about what caused the change to come into your life. Thirdly, do something! You must manage the change you are experiencing in order to master the change. It will either bring you trouble or an opportunity – you decide! Lastly, embrace the change as a part of your life. Use it as a stepping stone for personal growth.

I hope this blog post has helped you learn how to master change. You are now ready to use this experience as a reference point to know how to deal with other changes that will come your way! What tools do you use when going through a season of change? Let me know in the comments below!

P.S. I am hosting a giveaway of my new product series, Change Mastery! I really want to bless one of you who read my blog regularly, follow and support me. You can click here to fill out the information and be entered for a chance to win! The prize includes my brand new book, Change Mastery, as well as the corresponding workbook, DVD series and audio teaching!