Don't go changing

I love this model (see below) for thinking about how we approach change. As a workplace change is announced, people become anxious and tend to focus on the things they will lose. That's Door 3 in the model. It represents a door closing and necessitates letting go of familiar ways. No more having our own spreadsheet collecting data (among 14 others) but a new shared system. Hiring people requires a new process that considers bias and supports transparency.

But other doors remind us there may be a perspective we are overlooking. There are new things we can do now that we couldn't before (Door 4) - the whole point of the change. There are some things we couldn't do before and still can't (Door 2), like things not in our remit or acting unethically. And there are things that won't change at all (Door 1). Helping people identify these other doors can bring a more balanced perspective to the uncertainty of change.

When I think of the things that are largely constant in my life, which of course includes my work-life, I'm thinking about relationships with people, my character, my values and my purpose. These are anchors in a busy and turvey-topsy world.

While some of my focus for this year is on the changes I plan to make, the things I want to do differently and better, it's also on deepening and making space for the things that are constants in my world that can get overlooked by that new and shiny goal.

So, as we start our new year, what are the things that represent constancy for you and enrich your life because of it? Or, what's great behind Door 1?