Stones of Life

Have you ever seen or found a river stone that was perfectly smooth? Did the stone start out this way, or did it change over time? To most of us, the answer is obvious. Over time, the forces of the river current changed the river stone. And, like the river stone, forces in our lives are constant and never ending causing changes whether we like it or not. The important question for all of us though is how do we respond to change?

Many of us, have to work to support ourselves, or our family. But, does change is the work environment, or changes in our lives go unnoticed, or is of little concern?

Take our working environment in particular. No longer can we rely on past experience to gives us a safety net. No longer can we count on seniority to guarantee us a job. Nor, can we count on the company we work for either being bought out or going out of business entirely.

Let's be honest. You can resist change but it's going to happen anyway. Ask yourself, what are your chances of surviving if you continue to resist change?

Change is hardly new to our society. Just look at your daily newspaper, or T.V. newscast, or Internet stories. Change is everywhere. It has been a constant companion for as long as people have roamed the earth. The most important and significant aspect about change is that it has accelerated over the last couple of decades due to technological advances, and a more global society.

In order to benefit from change we need to focus more on the advantages rather than the negative. Remember, change is going to happen anyway; wouldn't it be better to be part of it rather than a fallout statistic because of it. If you find yourself resisting a new process, a new strategy, a new way of doing business, a good question to ask yourself is why the change is necessary. It is easier to adapt to change when you understand the reasons the change is required.

Taking the inevitability of change one step further, it is vitally important to keep expanding your knowledge, and to upgrade your skills, or learn a new skill. Don't wait for someone else to suggest upgrading, or enrolling in a specialized course. If you wait, you may never get the opportunity because others may have already completed what you should have done. Sometimes, it will make the difference from keeping your job to having no job at all.

Change, adapt, and continue to learn. Change will affect you one way or the other, just like change happened to the river-stone.