Coping with Change

       A young man awoke from a dream in a cold sweat.  He was the engineer of a train that was riding the rails through a pitch black sky.  He had to keep the train on track, but could not see the track and did not know which direction it led.  He only knew that if he failed, he would crash.  He became aware of other trains speeding through the night sky and received a message from the darkness that he must hurry up; he was too slow.  He was working hard to stay the course and was more frightened by the idea of increasing his speed.

 This is how most of us experience change.  We are already working hard to keep our lives on course and become fearful or apprehensive about changing courses.  Whether we are conscious of the fear of not, somewhere in our minds lurks the idea that we may lose control and “crash.”

 Change is and a every-present fact of life.  We actually adapt daily to small changes without realizing we are doing so.  Recognizing our success in adjusting to small changes and keeping a couple of guidelines in mind may help.

 In a study of employees who had adjusted successfully to organizational changes, the following attitudes were found:

1.       A personal belief that one has a sense of control over one’s life.

2.       A belief that difficult situations can be challenges, not obstacles.

3.       A balance between work and life outside work (family, personal growth, hobbies, etc.)

In the young man’s dream, just before he awake, he also heard a voice from the darkness say “Don’t worry, you’ll learn how.  We all did.”  This may suggest that change and our fear of it is universal and yet we all survive

Contact the EAP at 433-1211 for further information on change and other life issues.