Coping with change

I had the opportunity of traveling about 10 days ago to Orissa where we have a school. As I was talking to the couple who run the school, Royce and Lydia, they were telling me about the time when the eclipse came, probably about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and how that day none of the children came to school. I asked them why? They smiled and said that was the question that they asked the children. After much reluctance, the children shared that their parents had told them that that’s the day when a snake comes and swallows up the sun. Unable to contain the sun, it spits it out. If the sun then touches anybody, they would become sick. So the parents kept all these children home on that day. This was so astounding to Royce and Lydia. They then took out the encyclopedia and showed these children exactly what an eclipse is. But it brought to my mind that we still have pockets in India, this is a tribal area in Orissa, where belief is so backward and change needs to happen and happen fast, for them to catch up with all the information that is available today.


James Gleek, in a book called ‘Faster’ writes that the one quality that defines our modern technocratic age is acceleration. We’ve become a quick-reflexed, channel-flipping, fast-forwarding people. Reminds me of a story I read of a man who was mowing his front yard, when he saw his neighbor come out of his house and head straight to the mailbox. He opened it, slammed it shut and then stormed back into the house. A little later, he came back out of the house and again went to the mailbox, opened it and then slammed it shut. Couple of minutes later, he came out again, marched to the mailbox, opened it and slammed it harder than ever. The neighbor was puzzled so he went over to the man and said, “Hey, is there something wrong?” To which he replied, “There certainly is. My stupid computer keeps saying ‘You’ve got mail’.” You see, there seems to be a big gap between where people are and where they ought to be in a fast moving world. And how we cope with all of that will determine our well-being today.

Today the word change may evoke different scenarios for each of us. It could mean a job change, a merger, a transfer, new assignment, anything. But usually change is unsettling, often traumatic and can sometimes even immobilize us if we don’t flow with it. But change is inevitable in our fast-paced world. Roger Selbert, a futurist, predicted in the late 90’s, that although the information that we possessed was large, it would amount to only 3% of all the information that we will have available to us by the year 2010. That’s a year away. Imagine the changes this will bring about. We’re in 2009, and the question begs to be asked, ‘How are we coping with change?’ How are you coping with change all around you? Are you standing resolute and immovable in the midst of the winds of change, leaving you lost, lonely, and pretty soon, you’re going to be obsolete? Or are you trying to cope, trying to move on in the direction of change, but finding you’re not equipped, not fast enough, not decisive enough to weather change? Or are you the one instituting change but unsuccessful in carrying people with you?

You look at all these scenarios and all of them are energy-draining, aren’t they? Because they all involve a certain amount of frustration and stress that is directly proportionate to how we handle or activate change. Robert Tamassey, in his book ‘Jesus Works Here’ says this. ‘On an individual level, our ability to adjust and integrate these changes, some of them very dramatic will greatly affect our impact on society. Then he goes on to say that companies and organizations that stay on the cutting edge of change will be the survivors and successes of the 21st century. Those which cling to old paradigms saying “We’ve always done it this way” will become the 20th century answer to the dinosaur.

Why is change so difficult for us? In the 1970’s Alvin Toffler published a book ‘Future Shock’ which described the response of a society struggling to cope with the continually escalating pace of change in the later stages of the 20th century. That was an eye-opener for everybody who looked at what was happening around and said ‘how do we cope with this tremendous surge of information and technology that is around us?’ Joel Arthur Barker, a futurist who watches the trends, in his book ‘Future Edge’ says that ‘the primary cause for the severe reaction that we have to change, is paradigms.’ What does he mean by paradigms? Paradigm comes from the Greek word paradigma which means model, pattern or example. He defines a paradigm as a set of rules and regulations, written or unwritten, that does 2 things.
1. it establishes or defines boundaries
2. tells you how to behave inside the boundaries in order to be successful.
According to Barker, we each of us, have a unique collection of paradigms that govern how we understand, interpret and respond to information and events. These paradigms formulate for us our comfort zones, whether they’re at work or at home or wherever we are. And the problem occurs when a paradigm shifts. And that’s what happens when change occurs. Suddenly we find ourselves in a new game faced with a new set of rules. When a paradigm shifts, we’ll all go back to ground zero. And for those of us who dislike change, our reaction can range from annoyance, to consternation, to utter confusion.

Overcoming that resistance to change is important for our well-being. Most people feel anxious about change. It’s normal. Whenever you initiate change, resistance will surface. You can count on it. And there are various causes of resistance. If you are facing change you’ll be able to empathize with these, understand or identify with them. If you are the one instituting change in your company, you’ll also be able to identify with these resistances. Here are maybe 5 or 6 of them.

• Goals and benefits of change are not accepted, one of the common causes of resistance to change. People don’t understand why change must happen, how the goals and benefits of change can help them.

• Secondly, benefits of change have not been communicated.
• Or it’s the fear of the unknown or fear of failure.
• Or its just dislike for the person recommending the change.
• Could be wrong timing,
• belief that it will only make the boss look good.
• Fear of having to work harder or fear of the loss of rights or status.

And people become defensive when change occurs. There’s resistance and sometimes it’s difficult for those who have to institute change to see people sabotage operations or blow up emotionally at others or steal time or materials out of anger. or you see aggressive behavior come up, overt resistance, blaming, finger-pointing. Or people moan and groan, withhold support, sit on the fence, or offer outward agreement to the changes but do not demonstrate a commitment to make that change happen. But remember wherever you are in this whole process of change, that it is an emotion and it’s usually controlled by logic and action. Concerns our emotions. If you address them first with each person within your sphere of leadership you’ll find making changes of any type in your company to be easier, faster and more successful.

But for us, or many people who have a difficulty with change, you are digging your heels in and saying ‘I just can’t cope with it’, know that change is inevitable, that you have to change in today’s fast-paced world.

Remember the story of the quartz; the electronic quartz movement was developed in the research institute in Switzerland. But it didn’t look like a watch, it didn’t act like a watch or sound like a watch as a Swiss knew it. And they essentially concluded that it must not be a watch. Now this was in 1968. The power of 20/20 that we have now helps us to sum up their conclusion in one word – they were wrong. Later that year, the quartz prototype was displayed at an international watch-making congress. The Japanese seeing how the quartz concept fit in with the new electronic technology, look one look at it and it was love at first sight. In 1968, the Japanese has less than 1% of the world market. Today they own about 1/3 of the market, while by 1980; the Swiss share had dropped from 65% to 10%. How did this happen? It was simply a case of different paradigms. To the Swiss, the definition of a watch has very narrowly defined boundaries which caused them to miss the significance of the quartz invention. The Japanese, not affected with similar limitations, saw the first quartz watch and immediately thought ‘why not?’ We live in a time of unprecedented change. And the rate at which this change is taking place, it’s speeding up, not slowing down and success in the future will relate directly to our ability to cope with all of this change. And to a large extent this means being able to break out of old outmoded paradigms.

How are you doing in the midst of all of this? Are you feeling out of depth? Are you feeling like the world is passing you by in a hurry and you’re just holding on by your fingertips? Can we look to God maybe, to help us through these kinds of days? Because He, in the midst of all these changing scenarios, is the one person who doesn’t change. Why doesn’t He change, why is He not affected by change? Because He is perfect and perfect doesn’t need alteration. You cannot get more perfect. And God says to us, “I am with you. I’ll lead you, I’ll guide you”. And as we face different changes all around us, maybe today, that’s the solid ground we need to be standing on.

3 things I want to lay before you about God.

1. His love never changes. In Malachi, a book in the old testament 3:6 God says, “I the Lord do not change. I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
2. God’s word will not change. Isaiah 48, he says, the grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever. Psalm119:152 ‘Long ago I learnt from your statutes, that you established them to last forever. And he says to you I will never leave you, I will not forsake you.his word is true’.
3. His purpose for you life will never change. God has a purpose for each one of you on this call. That purpose will not change. The key is to somehow connect with Him in these days of change. So that when the winds of difficulty or adversity or hardship come your way, you are anchored into somebody who is solid.

I want to close with this poem.

In the midst of World War 2, with tensions running high
Off the eastern seaboard one dark and foggy night
A captain sighted out ahead just off the starboard side
The beacon of another ship, the two would soon collide
Adjust your course 10 degrees to the north, he radioed ahead
And much to his amusement the ship replied instead
Adjust your course 10 degrees to the north; the captain felt a chill,
His eyes grew cold and narrow and the two grew closer still
I’m the captain of this vessel and this is a command
Adjust the course 10 degrees to the north or receive a reprimand
Again the voice replying was calm and smooth as glass
Adjust your course 10 degrees to the north; I’m a seaman 2nd class
I’m a US naval destroyer snapped the captain with a shout
Now adjust your course 10 degrees, no discussion, over and out
They drew unnervingly closer, his eyes fixed on the light
This time the voice ripped through the air like lightning tears the night
I am the lighthouse; the path you choose is perilous
Destruction lies ahead if you delay
But if you trust me, I will lead you through safely
Adjust your course and you’ll be on your way
I am the lighthouse
How many years will a man stay blind before he learns to see?
And how many doors will a man kick down while I offer him the key
And as I begin to light the way will he fail to recognize
That I am there to light his path and not to blind his eyes

That’s a word that God says to each of us. He is the lighthouse in the midst of storms that rage and winds that howl and waves that are so high that they tend to overwhelm us. He is the stable lighthouse showing us the path and way that we ought to go. I pray that today you will just keep your eyes on the lighthouse, look to him and know that he is true, unchanging and will lead you through wherever you are in this process of change.