Change as Opportunity: Unprecedented, change, pivot, etc. We’ve heard and have seen these words time and time again during the global pandemic. But hold on, let’s think about this change. In my opinion, it is a constant. However you perceive and deal with change, it’s around that’s for sure, and I like to try to see it as an opportunity.
“Internal” Change: Sometimes change seems to come from the “outside”. For example, a major summer storm comes through and the hail from the storm dents your car so badly that your insurance company totals your car. When your car is in the shop, you may be without wheels for a few days, so you stay home. Sometimes, however, change is “internal” and low and behold you bring it on yourself!
Needed Change: Earlier this year I was working on a postcard project. My handwriting isn’t the prettiest, but nonetheless I powered ahead and hand wrote 100s (I’m not sure on the exact count, but I believe it was around 400 or so) of postcards and placed two smiley-face stickers on each one. I would write, put stickers and stamps on, and address dozens of postcards a day. I would try to mix things up by writing the message in different patterns, write in cursive, print, etc. Anything to break up the monotony of the important project was welcome.
Then one day, I was just “done” or I felt “done” in that I knew I needed to move forward and finish the project but my motivation was waning. So…I figured I needed to make a change. The change for me to get me motivated to continue with my postcards was a different venue…in my home! The weather was warm and it wasn’t too windy (a big deal in Wyoming) so I gathered my pen, stickers, postcards, and stamps and headed outdoors to write postcards. And what do you know…it worked! Our dog Teaka, and our cat Kimchi joined me on the patio and I went to work. Now the distance from my office to the patio isn’t far, but just the difference from being inside to outside was enough of a change of venue to propel me forward.
Eventually, as the wind picked up (a common occurrence in Wyoming) I moved back indoors, but not back to my office. Instead I set up shop in our downstairs family room and continued to write. Again, I wasn’t in my office but I was in a different space/venue, but that was enough of a change to keep me on task and was the catalyst I needed to keep going. All in all, I believe I wrote about 50 postcards that day!
Little Changes: The postcard project was a larger project, but it was the little, simple changes I made along the way that allowed me to complete it with success.