Change is an issue you actually face daily.
I don’t mean to imply that you’re actually changing everyday, I just mean you’re facing change.
You’re either …
leading change
resisting change
avoiding change
fearing change
mishandling change (don’t like this one either, but it happens).
As a leader, I’m gripped by this thought:
Change is not neutral. And whether or not you change always triggers relief or regret.
When you look back over your life, you will realize the changes you’ve made or didn’t make always resulted in relief or regret. Here are the kind of things you’ll say:
I’m so glad we worked through our differences and got counseling (relief).
I never should have taken the job for the money (regret).
I’m so thankful we started this church (relief).
I never should have gotten behind the wheel when I was that tired (regret).
I’m so glad we didn’t buy that house that was just out of our price range (relief).
One of my biggest mistakes was asking him to be my business partner (regret).
Inviting my best friend to be my son’s mentor was one of the best parenting decisions we ever made (relief).
Standing between the status quo and the outcome was one simple thing: change.
Either a change they needed to make (deciding to work on their marriage or to start the church) or a change they needed to avoid (not buying that house, or saying no to the prospective business partner).
And often, leaders are simply confused about whether to make the change or not.
Asking yourself a simple question can help cut through the confusion around change.
Here’s the question:
Five years from now, will the change I’m considering today result in relief or regret?
Stated another way:
Am I going to regret doing this/not doing this?
Am I going to be so relieved I did this/didn’t do this?
You won’t always know the answer for sure, but you will probably know more of it than you think. Asking that simple question can clarify so much.
Five years from now, all you’re going to have is relief or regret about the change you’re staring down today.
Because whether or not you change always triggers relief or regret.
So what are you staring down today?
Will the change bring relief or regret?
Once you know, go do something about it.
