Most people don’t like change. It’s too unpredictable. There are too many question marks, too many variables.
Or maybe it’s just that we’re comfortable, and too many of us have selected comfort as our highest priority. We have our life just the way we want it, so there’s no point in changing it up. I mean, why fix something that’s not broke.
For some, it’s more about effort. They’re just tired, overworked, under-rested and the idea of change is exhausting.
No matter which school of thought we subscribe, the one thing we can count on is the fact that things are going to change, whether we want it to or not.
Sometimes change is good, sometimes it’s bad, and sometimes it’s just different.
Now, the really strange among us – the ones they write about in psychology books – embrace change like an old friend. They seek it out as a buried treasure. They’re like a kid on Christmas morning, impatiently waiting to see what their new toy will look like, feel like and sound like.
Two of the most successful people of my generation were just like that, and most successful people – most overly successful people – feel giddy and get a huge adrenaline rush when they think of change.
Steve Jobs, founder and former CEO of Apple until his death, was always looking to create the next breakthrough in computer and consumer technology, and in doing so, changed the way we live our lives and what we can’t live without. Every kid grows up wanting an iPod, an iPad and an iPhone. Needless to say, when Jobs passed away from cancer, his company had more cash on hand than the United States government.
Tiger Woods also embraced change, and he did so in a sport built on consistency, not change. After winning the 1997 Masters by an unheard of 12 shots (his first professional major tournament of his career), he went on a mission to completely change the way he swung the golf club. Many people questioned it and said he was crazy, and he spent the majority of 1998 and 1999 with sub-par results on the course.
Then came 2000, and Tiger won nine tournaments. He won three out of the four major tournaments that year and had the lowest scoring average of any player ever on the PGA Tour. This success went on until 2003 when he decided to change his swing again, and then once more in 2010. Until he came along, it was the taboo to ever tinker with your swing, much less completely change it, and now almost every player considers a swing change during their career.
Not only is change your only constant in life, it’s also your best friend when your pursuit is to grow and improve as a result. Embracing change, rather than resisting it, is key to achieving new results you never dreamed were possible.
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