Master of Change

To thrive amid change, embrace “rugged flexibility.” 

Change is a constant. Be it war, recession, social upheaval, political unrest, environmental catastrophes or the effects of emerging technologies, dramatic disruptions constantly afflict the world. On an individual level, “disorder events,” such as the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, marriage, promotion, getting divorced, serious illness, and so on, disrupt life intermittently. Research shows that people undergo an average of 36 disorder events during their adult lives – or roughly once every 18 months. So, while many people view periods of change as exceptions to the rule, change is, in fact, the rule. 

People tend to respond to change in one of four ways: refusing to admit change is occurring; choosing to resist change; renouncing their agency; or trying to return to the pre-change status quo. These four responses stem from a misguided sense that life follows an X to Y to X pattern known as homeostasis; that is, when something occurs to disrupt the status quo, living systems do all they...