Too Much Change? Here’s How to Avoid a Victim Mindset
Change is a constant. Whether it’s the annual stress of open enrollment for health care (“Wait, what? My coverage is changing again?”) or an unexpected shift in your job focus (“But I thought the lime green widget was a priority. When did we change to the purple gizmo?”) — the one certainty is that change is going to happen.
And there’s one thing we do have control over: how we respond to change, even when it comes at us out of the blue.
We can get stuck being a victim. You know those people, right? They’re the ones holding a pity party in the break room. Or, we can respond positively and keep moving forward. You know those people, too. They’re the ones who are more fun and interesting to be around!
Here are five tips for staying out of a victim mindset, even when it seems like everything is blowing up around you.
- Remember that it’s not personal.
People who are resilient towards change know that even when it feels like the world is dumping on them, it really isn’t about them. It’s not personal. It’s just what’s happening right now. - Shift your focus.
Whatever’s happening may feel like a disaster, but it’s not the only thing going on in your life. Call a friend (but not to bemoan your situation), scan through photos of your loved ones on your cell phone, make plans to do something fun over the weekend. - Find a new perspective.
The author and motivational speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” How can you look at this situation differently? - Move you body, change your brain.
Physical movement has a huge effect on our state of mind. Take five minutes and run up and down the stairs, walk around the building, or dance to your favorite song. - Find something to be grateful for.
One thing – just one thing – appreciated in detail can make a big difference in your outlook. So pick one thing and take two minutes to write down all the details about how wonderful this experience, person, or thing is in your life.
Resilience to change is something we can all practice – if we choose. And it makes so much difference in how we feel, and how others feel about us.
Recommended Training Resource: It’s one thing to know that a positive response to change makes for a more productive, happy workplace; it’s another thing entirely to have strategies in place to be prepared when change happens. Our program, Taking Charge of Change, teaches the proven William Bridges model for transitioning through the stages of change (“endings”, “neutral zone” and “beginnings”) with as little stress and negative energy as possible.
Tags: Change, Change Management, Employee Training Videos Workplace Change, gratefulness, perspective, resilient, victim, William Bridges
