The Value of Change

I remember a moment from a metaphysics course I took in college that really got me thinking.  We were studying continuity of personality theories, and it hit me while staring at a single stream of incense drifting lazily up towards the ceiling that we will never be the same as we were even a moment ago, and we are as different from our past selves as we are from another human at any given time. So, you might not like change (actually, your brain is designed to be scared of it and to resist it), but you need change. In fact, you are change. 

The last year and a half or so for many of us was a lot of “the same” punctuated by some really, really bad “different.” As a result, our brains are craving the sort of change that we make on purpose, the kind of change that makes us feel like we are growing. This type of change tricks us into thinking that we are in control - if even for a moment. 

My hair-therapist, @ReneDeJarnatt, shared with me the power a haircut can have on someone's confidence or motivation to start a new chapter. If a change in hair can have power on how we act on the world, it begs the question, What is the true value of change?

You might have read in the news recently that more and more people are thinking about changing their jobs. They might say that it’s about not wanting to go back to their old commutes or corner cubicles, but I wonder if it’s something deeper. Could it be more about that urge to gain control or freedom? The desire to do something drastic as a way to shake out of an old paradigm?

You don’t have to quit your job to create change. I say this because a lot of people think they do. They feel that the stagnation, the stress, the boredom, the loneliness they have felt in the last year and half is from their jobs, but it isn’t (or, at least the jobs alone are not responsible). Your job - your company - is a direct reflection of what you have going on inside. Unlike the winding incense smoke I had watched years ago, lately we’ve all felt channeled through the smallest, most rigid tube. We’ve been unable to move and freely create our own paths, and I think that’s what a lot of us are fighting against right now.

Still, I’m suggesting that you change something. Changing anything ignites motivation and an energy of lightness, movement, and new perspective. As startup founders, it’s our job to disrupt. Disruption is, by its very nature, a change. If you initiate change without intention, you might quit your company, move to Bali, or start disrupting just to feel in control. However, if you create change with intention, it strengthens your ability to disrupt and spark growth in the direction of your vision.  

Instead of creating unconscious change, try some of the following: 

• Look at the world from a different perspective

  • Do a handstand

  • Hang off of your bed

  • Use a mirror’s reflection to look around 

• Change a narrative

  • Imagine if your customers were totally different from who they are

  • Imagine living in a world without technology

  • Believe you really can do anything

  • Feel into operating without fear

• Be different

  • Walk around all day as your idol

  • Try on being something that you’re not

• Feel yourself from the inside out

  • Complete a short fast

  • Move your body in a way you never do

  • Take a moment and touch, taste, hear, or smell something totally new

Or get a new haircut. Make a change and see how it feels, because change is powerful. 

At Pilea, change is our specialty. Don’t see an idea in the list that strikes your fancy? Reach out and book with our concierge to see if we can provide the type of change you’re craving.