“Behold I will do a new thing saith the lord”
What you truly are is who you are becoming everyday; who you are becoming is a function of what your daily choices are. The only constant in this world is change. This should be one of the most quoted, quotable quotes of all time, yet it seems to subsist in that realm of being a ‘quote’. Few people ever make it their conscious practice.
Change management is one of the most powerful skills of an enduring, successful legacy. Whether it be geographical change, relationship change, business/career change, financial change, etc. These changes might be good or bad in themselves but successfully managing them is what distinguishes. Good change can kill, so also can bad change. Good change can increase you, so also can bad change. How your ‘change experience’ produce for you is a function of your handling it.
Even the bible says “No man straightaway desires the new…”, no man? geez! Yet we all seem to pray daily for God to send us to a new level. Is it that our lips declare one thing yet our hearts, our internal wiring declares another? Reality is that for big change to happen, it must proceed from a daily conscious practice. Change proceeds from an internal consciousness, it isn’t from the outside. We cannot generate change from external elements, we attract change by creating an internal atmosphere that is change-compliant, change conscious, change-aware. I dare say that a new you is the most important prerequisite for a change in your environment.
I once battled with the decision to leave Delta State for Lagos a couple of years ago. I felt in my mind I was already about 4 years late, yet I still bothered if it was God’s will or if it was just my excitement with entertainment. This limbo persisted until a curious family issue had me leaving for Lagos without a choice. I got a job the next day and the next steps of my life proceeded from then until now. We need the God connection, because I believe it was Him who set the controversy that ensured I moved before It was too late. i was change-aware, but didn’t act on it because of a lack of clarity.
Many times, change scares us so much our rhetoric becomes – looking up to God to direct or an over-analysis of the prospects, etc. i have come to discover that in life and business, finding the next level when you have a deep hunger for something different might involve lifting your feet to take the stairs, even when you cannot see it. Just step out and start moving…
You consist of all these following important dimensions:
1. Spiritual you
2. Emotional you
3. Physical you
4. Mental you
5. Financial you
The way you react to stimuli in your environment is highly dependent on how much handle you have on the various dimensions of your life. Each one needs to be well developed, beginning from your ‘source’ – spiritual, to your character, finances, etc. Your life needs to have a good balance. Developing one dimension to the detriment of others is what produces certain types of ‘misfits’ in society. Where a man could be so spiritual but is financially unintelligent, or is financially intelligent but has no authority figure (God) over his life, or lacks character and goes about sleeping with all sorts, or a man loves his family so much but has no money to take care of them and so they live on the brink of kids going the wrong way to fend for themselves. We are diverse but still one, whole, beautiful package.
Change will come, whether we go for it or not. You therefore need to be in full apprehension, comprehension or consciousness of the product undergoing change (i.e. YOU); being in touch with the above listed parts of you guarantees nimbleness of mind.
Change is a process, for many it is a project, for a few it is a lifestyle. Whether you like it or not, change will happen. You can either wait for it, prepare for it or go and meet it where it resides. We are taught that the way to know or progress is to ask questions, that when processes are questioned, innovations & inventions are produced. This is the way to initiate change, you can be proactive about change. You can go after it, rather than just wait for the natural cycle of life. Stop waiting for life to happen to you, get up and take the wheel.
How to engineer change in your life? simple. Creativity is hinged on change management. Creative people are always seeking things to change or looking for the change in things. In this day and age, change in more frequent and drastic so as we make our decisions to jump in or stay out no matter the sort of change, we need certain fundamentals to drive us:
- Where do you stand with God? Do you hear him speak? No hocus-pocus, I mean does his word and counsel rule your decisions?
- Who are you? Are you familiar with who you are and why you are here? There is a reason you are here, find it!
- Do you have a clearly defined end? Is your preferred end clearly documented? Your end should always instruct events in your present.
- Have you bounced off your process with a mentor? (They usually have undergone loads of similar experiences). Don’t go alone, two good heads are better than one.
- Is your motivation, more money or more skill? Or just money? True purpose is in working for a dream not a pay-check. Experience and history has shown that those who succeed the most went beyond the call of money.
- Despite inadequate clarity, do you find peace in your chosen step? We see the curve but we must engage the one who sees around the curve so that we might set out on faith. That’s how peace comes.
There are more fundamentals that keep your two feet on the ground when managing change, but this is a good place to start. Have a nice weekend wherever you are. Take charge.
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Yoma Victor is an entrepreneur, student of God, love and life. He is very passionate about Development, Financial Intelligence, Leadership, and believes that entrepreneurs build families and nations. He is co-founder of d-xtreme unit to advance personal development among young people in Sapele, Delta State of Nigeria in 2004. Today, it is a national platform. He partners with several social initiatives across Nigeria and beyond. He is also a dancer, a huge lover of music, movies, books, and the pursuit of purpose.
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The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
