Change

Rarely is change tidy...it’s more like the jumble of coins in our purse or pocket and can especially feel chaotic when change first is introduced. Changes in the workplace are constant in order to keep pace with the demands, to keep competitive and make a profit. Changes in our health, income, family systems and maybe our favorite cereal box front, nudges us to reconsider how we think and how we deal with change.

​Change impacts how we live, shop, eat and relate to others. We can’t escape it and for many that very thought raises blood pressure and anxiety. The increased stress of change is enough to make you want to “go ghost” (a young volunteer used recently in a conversation referring to escaping reality)!

However, there are those folks you and I know, the ones who see change, the jumble of coins, as an opportunity to learn from and be refined through. A chance to make their home life or work environment better, stronger and healthier.

These are the people who are realistic about the challenge of change but commit themselves to considering how they can positively influence the change and thrive through the change not just survive.

Are people born with this hardiness? The ability to see the potential, to take control of what you can, and face the challenge, trusting you will be stronger and wiser because of the experience? The good news is no. We all can learn to approach challenges and the stress that changes can bring with a resilient attitude.

Not only can we learn how to be more “hardy” we can foster it in others. My father often told us kids while
camping in northern Minnesota to leave our camp sites better than we found them. It’s this sort of attitude that fosters hardiness and in turn makes experiencing change with a sense of hope possible.

The next time you feel that change mixing in your pocket be mindful about a change you are facing. Choose to not isolate, keep close to those co-workers, family members and friends who foster solution-focused
attitudes. Commit yourself to work through the change (even the difficult ones) and create a “space” that is better now than when you first arrived. We can foster healthier communities little by little as we make things better than how we found them.

​Sandy Anderson
Mower Refreshed Coordinator
Mayo Clinic Health System Austin

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