Dealing With Change

Change isn't always an easy thing to deal with. But as Spencer Johnson reminds us in his bestselling book, Who Moved My Cheese?:

• If you do not change, you can become extinct.
• What would you do if you weren't afraid?
• Movement in a new direction helps you find new "cheese" (i.e. new opportunities)
• When you move beyond your fear, you feel free.
• Old beliefs do not lead to anything new.

No matter what happens in your personal and professional life, you can decide whether to label something as good or bad. You can decide to call an event a step forward or a step backward. As Thomas Edison once said, "I'm not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward."

Here are four things you can do to help you move forward and deal with change:

• Know specifically what you are aiming for.
• Know what steps you must take to go in that direction.
• Evaluate your actions each day to see if your steps are leading you toward your desired results.
• If they are not, find out how you can make minor modifications to the steps to help you stay on course.