Life Conversations: The Way Things Are

Be aware of the stories you tell, for they have the power to become true - Ashish

Why is leading change in an organization tough? What makes grown people resist change even though they have spent the better part of their lives adapting to change happening all around them?

’The way things are,’ or ’This is how we have always done it,’ are the two most significant hurdles a transformation/change leader needs to manage. The best way to handle that is to understand the possibility or root cause of this reasoning and solve it.

The answer to this resistance lies in the humans need for coherence. Coherence between our beliefs (heart) and actions (mind). We want to be true to our values and beliefs. We want to work and live authentically. That is something we are hard-wired for.

This coherence comes from knitting together our internal experiences and what we observe in our environment, through an automatic process of narration. This explains why we do what we do! As we repeat the stories to ourselves, often unconsciously, they become life scripts and routines. These scripts guide our actions and thinking so much so, that we forget what is real and what is a narration we have told ourselves repeatedly. This narration becomes a form of identity, in which things someone chooses to include in the story, and the way they say it, can both reflect and shape who they are.

Recognize that the stories are constructed and not the immutable truth about you and ’the way things are.'

#Coherence #Attitude #Change