Author: Adam Markel
How to make change work for you, As human beings, we don’t look at change and think, “Hmmm I want more of that.” Given my own relationship to and with change, I challenged myself to figure out why this is true. Why do we avoid change? Why does change create stress, fear and uncertainty? The […]
How to make change work for you, As human beings, we don’t look at change and think, “Hmmm I want more of that.”
Given my own relationship to and with change, I challenged myself to figure out why this is true. Why do we avoid change? Why does change create stress, fear and uncertainty? The answer starts with your brain.
My brain right now is singing Foo Fighters, but instead of the great pretender, I’m singing the great predictor. That’s your brain. That’s what your brain does best. It takes in all of the information around you, at any given time, and fills the gaps by predicting what will happen next. Or as Lars Muckli, professor of neuroscience at the Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, puts it, “Our brains make sense of the world by predicting what we will see and then updating these predictions as the situation demands.”
Even when presented with all kinds of opportunities at hand – both good (promised rewards) AND bad (risky behaviors), people still find themselves wanting more stability rather than opting into new beginnings. And that is because we cannot predict what we haven’t experienced, like those new beginnings, and it’s scary.
Dave Grohl, before he cemented his place in history as the Foo Fighters founder, was playing drums with Kurt Cobain for the legendary band Nirvana. Life dealt a big hand of change with Cobain’s death – change Grohl used to become one of the most well known rockers in grunge history. This is an awesome story of becoming Change Proof, able to use uncertainty as a foundation for growth.
Getting Rid of the Paralyzing What If’s
One thing I hear a lot when I speak as a resilience keynote speaker is that the “what if” part of change is paralyzing. Learning to adapt to change, to stop engaging that fight or flight cortisol reaction in our brains, is how we increase our capacity and potential.
In my new book, Change Proof, I teach readers how to employ a new method for those moments where change feels paralyzing, by Pausing, Asking and then Choosing. This simple change in our approach is how we can learn to adapt to change and then eventually learn to LOVE change and the power it brings. In this way, we get to choose change before it chooses us – a shift that creates clarity around all of the potential that change is harnessing.
Pause. It’s counter-intuitive but you have to pause. You have to know at that moment that the first thing that you do is stop what you’re doing. It’s the hardest thing to do, to take that pause, because the risk is so great. It goes against millions of years of human evolution. Again, it’s that voice in your lizard brain telling you that survival is the only option. I’m here to tell you that it isn’t.
Ask. The next step, The Ask, is where you determine exactly how you live. This is where we frame the meaning of what you’re experiencing. You’re creating a space to ask the questions you need to ask about what happened and what you’re going to do about it.
Choose. Once you’ve stopped struggling against the current, and created space to look at your options, you get to choose how you proceed. Taking back control of your life and the change that is inevitable.
Methods like the one I shared above provide the platform and resilience we are all looking for. By building a foundation to be better predictors (instead of pretenders) we get to live life on our own terms.
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
I’m not going to pretend that this is easy stuff for Second Best, especially given all the uncertainty in the world. Over the course of the last three weeks, as corporate America has made the transition from meetings in conference rooms and common spaces to Zoom calls and other online sessions, I’m struck by the […]
I first met Julie Faupel during a week-long personal growth retreat and learnt how to get Closer to Your Customer. The retreat required a total digital detox and abstinence of any conversation related to career, work or business. Julie and I became fast friends and for me personally, the retreat experience was transformational. Fortunately, the […]
“No doubt about it, the best speakers are good storytellers. The best writers are good storytellers, the best leaders are good storytellers, and the best teachers and trainers and coaches are good storytellers for Storytelling In Business. It might even be argued that the best parents are good storytellers.” Evidently, storytelling is not confined to […]
The Olympics are finally here after a year-long COVID delay and how Gratitude Wires Your Brain. The Olympic Games are incredibly inspiring. These men and women give a clinic on Peak Performance for twelve action-packed days. There will be thrilling victories, world-record-breaking performances, and soul-crushing defeats. But everyone competing will be showing you what peak […]
How to: Stay approachable, are you as a manager? Here are 5 tips Many people think they are approachable, but only a few really are. We are aware of our positive thoughts and hope that they are visible to everyone. We believe we are approachable when, in truth, many of us come off as remote […]
Life has a such a unique way of giving us what we need (soul food) rather than what we want. Stop another dark night of the soul. I have just come out of what can only be described as another dark soul of the night. Unable to see further than my fear and feeling […]
No doubting Lock-down has been a challenging time for almost all South Africans as We can travel again… Perhaps less so for government officials, seen attending funerals puffing cigarettes, and others who have been on full salary, but for most of us a very difficult time. The President’s announcement of easing restrictions to Level 2 from […]
You CAN Make Meetings Productive with most meetings occurring online, I’m hearing about the frustrations of time wasted during meetings from leaders and teams’ members alike. Meetings are running overtime. The structure is lost. People can’t make it to their meetings on time – even virtually! Some people talk too much while others never utter […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
