Whether it’s in business, work or even in our personal lives, change happens constantly around us. Circumstances change and therefore — and naturally — things and people change. Not everyone is happy about it, but to survive, we must adapt to those changes.
We cannot control the changes that happen around us, but we can control the changes that happen within us. If we can do that, we can drive new results and the side effects include better circumstances for us and those around us in our personal lives.
When it comes to businesses, however, it can be complex. As business leaders, you may be able to transform yourself, but it takes the entire organisation to drive greater results. As an employee, you may not fully fathom why it is important to change yourself if you’re already doing great in your job.
With change as the only constant we know, self-transformation becomes an essential part of our everyday lives. While the term itself sounds grand, self-transformation is actually a dynamic, constantly moving process that requires small, everyday changes in our lives. It is a choice we must make sooner or later. The coronavirus crisis we have all been facing this year has made it clear that self-transformation isn’t a one-time occurrence.
Here are some reasons why self-transformation is important to begin with, and how it can drive new results if we remain constant with it, especially when facing uncertainty.
First, self-transformation can help us get unstuck. Even before the crisis hit us, we’ve all experienced those days, weeks and even months of complete standstill in our lives, careers and businesses. We’ve all been there, and we all know that getting out of that neutral gear can be draining. We see changes in our friends’ lives and careers but don’t see any movement in ours.
Self-transformation allows us to develop or even shift to new perspectives that allow us to see opportunities we may have otherwise overlooked.
Second, it focuses our attention on practising agility and adaptability to external changes. Change from within can be tough on us, not because of the changes around us that force it but because we are never fully ready to face them. If we can understand that self-transformation isn’t a grand phenomenon that happens once in a lifetime, we will realise that it’s an act requiring constant attention and adjustment.
We may never be prepared to face all kinds of changes that happen in our lives, but self-transformation helps us practise the skills we need to face them, especially agility and adaptability.
Third, in an organisational setting, self-transformation promotes a more positive outlook toward learning and the overall work environment. Learning, especially in an organisation, seems more like a punishment imposed on us by HR. We often are left wondering why we were sent to training to begin with.
But look at it from another perspective: No matter what the training and development topic is, we can always learn something new. What we knew five years ago may no longer be as relevant to today’s practices as we’re led to believe. With new learning, new opportunities may present themselves.
Finally, you get to take care of your own well-being. Let’s face it — we don’t always take the time to take care of ourselves. Some of us don’t focus on our hobbies anymore and instead dedicate our lives to other activities that are draining us. While that doesn’t mean those aspects of life aren’t important, it just means that it’s time to shift your view, so that you don’t become overwhelmed, burn out and resent the important things in your life.
We don’t know what’s going to happen to our lives and our businesses, but we do know that remaining the same is not an option for long-term survival. Here are three things to build on to build a stronger foundation for self-transformation:
First, develop the self-awareness to understand yourself and what changes you need. Second, set goals to give yourself a clearer direction and the ability to keep track of where you’re going. Finally, focus on skill building to fill any gaps that might be preventing you from reaching your goals.
Self-transformation can look different to each person, so the how-to may not be as critical as the “why”, because often, people refuse to recognise that they must take that first step. Change will always be constant, but we cannot remain the same if we want new results in our lives and careers. Self-transformation is an everyday choice you can make to develop yourself and open up to new opportunities.
Arinya Talerngsri is Chief Capability Officer and Managing Director at SEAC - Southeast Asia’s Lifelong Learning Center. She can be reached by email at arinya_t@seasiacenter.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinya-talerngsri-53b81aa. Explore and experience our lifelong learning ecosystem today at https://www.yournextu.com