Change - Coping and adaptation

[ozziemate]

Change is inevitable so they say. We have been told and shown this from the first day we drew our first breath and with out question experience it when we exhale our last breath.
Life is full of change and yet we seem in so many cases so reluctant to accept change nor find a way of coping better.
Changes in life such as aging maturing, growth, learning, education, relationships, skills, and future outlook all happen all the time yet we seem to have some difficulty in managing change properly.

I thought possibly that to open a discussion on "change management" both at a micro level [personal] and at a macro level [ national/global ] and see from other posters how they cope and manage changes in their lives under these two criteria.

Of course it all comes down to the micro or personal level in the end but how a nation for example implements major socioeconomic changes and the relative impacts on your family,friends and co-workers also demonstrably impacts on the personal. [ Micro]

An extreme example could be drawn from the HIV [AIDS] epidemic that swept the globe years ago and how radically this changed peoples behaviour. How did you cope? What changes did you have to make to your life? How did you deal with the grief of losing the freedom you may have once had? etc etc.
another, the knowledge of ozone depletion and how that effected your lifestyle and attitude ?
So any thoughts about how you have managed the change and how you could advise people likewise to manage change better would be most welcome.

[SWM]

perhaps the difficulty that people have is not with change so much as people are constanly changing and not concerned or disconcerted.

perhaps the difficulty is accepting what is lost when changes happpen. could that be closer to what you are thinking about?

[ozziemate]

perhaps the difficulty that people have is not with change so much as people are constanly changing and not concerned or disconcerted.

perhaps the difficulty is accepting what is lost when changes happpen. could that be closer to what you are thinking about?

actually I would have thought the fear or uncertainty of where the change may lead is the most comon issue..[ paranoia and reality based]

[SWM]

perhaps the difficulty that people have is not with change so much as people are constanly changing and not concerned or disconcerted.

perhaps the difficulty is accepting what is lost when changes happpen. could that be closer to what you are thinking about?

actually I would have thought the fear or uncertainty of where the change may lead is the most comon issue..[ paranoia and reality based]

ok, what is happening when an individual is afraid of uncertainty, what does uncertainty signify?

if we think about change as moving from one position to another. and  the uncertainty is about what the new position will be like, is that true to your ovbservation of this "fear of change"?

[ozziemate]

perhaps the difficulty that people have is not with change so much as people are constantly changing and not concerned or disconcerted.

perhaps the difficulty is accepting what is lost when changes happen. could that be closer to what you are thinking about?

actually I would have thought the fear or uncertainty of where the change may lead is the most common issue..[ paranoia and reality based]

OK, what is happening when an individual is afraid of uncertainty, what does uncertainty signify?

if we think about change as moving from one position to another. and  the uncertainty is about what the new position will be like, is that true to your observation of this "fear of change"?

Change management is a huge area of concern for all organisations , from government to the small business owner. This is of course only a focus on those that tend to instigate change and on the other side of the coin are those that are directly and indirectly effected by change.
Even though it is an old issue [ as old as humanity itself I would guess] it is only recently that "Change Management" has become a significant part of the commercial and government research and development.
Just recently I was fortunate to spend time with a man who's employment was specifically change management and over coffee we have a very interesting discussion about how the world was moving towards a better way of managing this often times huge issue for management of business, employees and their respective families. Societal and economic change.
Within Human Resources Departments Change management has achieved a priority like never before as the amount of restructuring, downsizing , up sizing, terminations, re locations and the shift to a global resource base has meant significant stress and the resultant reactions have become significant issues for the profit line and order of companies and Governing bodies generally.

It's a relatively new area of serious investigation and has impacts on everyone which is why I brought up the topic to explore some thoughts on the issue.
As I mentioned it seems that it is uncertainty about the future that is the greatest source of concern for those undergoing change, then letting go of old habits and routines to move on to new ones either voluntarily or by the force of circumstances.
It appears that in the main it is about informing and educating and inspiring the will to change and giving sound reasons and rationa-al for the suffering involved.

anyone like to add?

[SWM]

there was a specific point i was making in asking the questions

ok, what is happening when an individual is afraid of uncertainty, what does uncertainty signify?

if we think about change as moving from one position to another. and  the uncertainty is about what the new position will be like, is that true to your ovbservation of this "fear of change"?

[ozziemate]

there was a specific point i was making in asking the questions

ok, what is happening when an individual is afraid of uncertainty, what does uncertainty signify?

if we think about change as moving from one position to another. and  the uncertainty is about what the new position will be like, is that true to your ovbservation of this "fear of change"?

and that point was?

[SWM]

you say that the fear or uncertainty is about where change leads,

i was wanting to gain understanding of what uncertainty signifies in the process of change and to understand how you conceptualise the process of change so as to break the subject down to its basic elements.

[ozziemate]

To be honest I haven't yet done a strong analysis fo the issue which is why I have posted the thread to hopefully gain some insight from others...
however over the next few days I'll put together something I guess that will get the ball rolling....
definitely uncertainty about the future is a major issue......and the underpinning psychology of this is quite a large subject.

[voodoo scientist]

Change is difficult for people today because we spent the last half century being told to "be who we are."

[ozziemate]

Change is difficult for people today because we spent the last half century being told to "be who we are."

care to expand a little.... as in how does "be who we are" make change difficult....

[voodoo scientist]

Change is difficult for people today because we spent the last half century being told to "be who we are."

care to expand a little.... as in how does "be who we are" make change difficult....

"Be who you are" stands in direct opposition to "change," and thus one inhibits the other. It's extremely ingrained in Western culture and has been since the cultural revolution in the '60s. It doesn't mean they can't change, since the idea is purely abstract in nature and thus only affects the rational faculties, it just means they're inhibited from effecting change with the affected brain centers.

[KayBee]

hi there, I have been registered on the site for some time, but not really had time to participate. I am interested in the question about change, but maybe not for the reason you would think. Ozziemate asks us to consider the impact of the AIDS epidemic which swept the globe "years ago" and how people have changed their behaviour. We have to remember that HIV/AIDS is STILL sweeping the globe, its effects are STILL devastating lives, families and whole countries; and people haven't changed their behaviour, otherwise we wouldn't still be getting all these newly-diagnosed cases coming forward. HIV is a massive problem in the world; my apologies if this is not the correct forum to address the issue, but we mustn't be blind ot the fact that it will be with us for many, many years to come.

[ozziemate]

hi there, I have been registered on the site for some time, but not really had time to participate. I am interested in the question about change, but maybe not for the reason you would think. Ozziemate asks us to consider the impact of the AIDS epidemic which swept the globe "years ago" and how people have changed their behaviour. We have to remember that HIV/AIDS is STILL sweeping the globe, its effects are STILL devastating lives, families and whole countries; and people haven't changed their behaviour, otherwise we wouldn't still be getting all these newly-diagnosed cases coming forward. HIV is a massive problem in the world; my apologies if this is not the correct forum to address the issue, but we mustn't be blind ot the fact that it will be with us for many, many years to come.

As an aside to the topic it is interesting how here in Australia people have adapted their lifestyles to accommodate yet another STD. The HIV issue has been quickly relegated to merely STD status as far as I can tell. Not unlike all the other horror STD's that plagued the world centuries ago that we have only recently found appropriate treatments for [ in the main]

In some respects given the significance of this "new" STD are we just simply going into denial as usual like we as a race seem to do about so many things?
Denial does seem to be a large part of coping with change, such as the denial of the ramifications of climate change on our children's children etc etc....

[ozziemate]

Voodoo scientist:
"Be who you are" stands in direct opposition to "change," and thus one inhibits the other.

I am afraid you will need expand on how this occurs as although I have an idea of what you are attempting to put forward I wouldn't wish ro pre-empt your meaning.