How to make change work for you, As human beings, we don’t look at change and think, “Hmmm I want more of that.”
Given my own relationship to and with change, I challenged myself to figure out why this is true. Why do we avoid change? Why does change create stress, fear and uncertainty? The answer starts with your brain.
My brain right now is singing Foo Fighters, but instead of the great pretender, I’m singing the great predictor. That’s your brain. That’s what your brain does best. It takes in all of the information around you, at any given time, and fills the gaps by predicting what will happen next. Or as Lars Muckli, professor of neuroscience at the Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, puts it, “Our brains make sense of the world by predicting what we will see and then updating these predictions as the situation demands.”
Even when presented with all kinds of opportunities at hand – both good (promised rewards) AND bad (risky behaviors), people still find themselves wanting more stability rather than opting into new beginnings. And that is because we cannot predict what we haven’t experienced, like those new beginnings, and it’s scary.
Dave Grohl, before he cemented his place in history as the Foo Fighters founder, was playing drums with Kurt Cobain for the legendary band Nirvana. Life dealt a big hand of change with Cobain’s death – change Grohl used to become one of the most well known rockers in grunge history. This is an awesome story of becoming Change Proof, able to use uncertainty as a foundation for growth.
Getting Rid of the Paralyzing What If’s
One thing I hear a lot when I speak as a resilience keynote speaker is that the “what if” part of change is paralyzing. Learning to adapt to change, to stop engaging that fight or flight cortisol reaction in our brains, is how we increase our capacity and potential.
In my new book, Change Proof, I teach readers how to employ a new method for those moments where change feels paralyzing, by Pausing, Asking and then Choosing. This simple change in our approach is how we can learn to adapt to change and then eventually learn to LOVE change and the power it brings. In this way, we get to choose change before it chooses us – a shift that creates clarity around all of the potential that change is harnessing.
Pause. It’s counter-intuitive but you have to pause. You have to know at that moment that the first thing that you do is stop what you’re doing. It’s the hardest thing to do, to take that pause, because the risk is so great. It goes against millions of years of human evolution. Again, it’s that voice in your lizard brain telling you that survival is the only option. I’m here to tell you that it isn’t.
Ask. The next step, The Ask, is where you determine exactly how you live. This is where we frame the meaning of what you’re experiencing. You’re creating a space to ask the questions you need to ask about what happened and what you’re going to do about it.
Choose. Once you’ve stopped struggling against the current, and created space to look at your options, you get to choose how you proceed. Taking back control of your life and the change that is inevitable.
Methods like the one I shared above provide the platform and resilience we are all looking for. By building a foundation to be better predictors (instead of pretenders) we get to live life on our own terms.
Article written by Adam Markel
Contact us at Speakers Inc and view WeSpeak Global
10 Lessons Learned and the messages I want to share with all of you. At the end of last year, I made the awkward decision to leave the world that had given so much to me, to pursue something that wasn’t well defined, yet oddly was clearly the right path for me to take. After […]
Empowering Voices: Celebrating Women’s Month San Diego 2024 In the vibrant city of San Diego, Women’s Month serves as a poignant celebration of the resilience, achievements, and contributions of women across diverse fields. As the month unfolds, what better way to honor this spirit than by highlighting and celebrating the impactful Women’s Month keynote speakers […]
Unveiling the Hottest Trends in Event Entertainment: Elevate Your Corporate Event with Speakers Inc In the ever-evolving landscape of event planning and entertainment, staying ahead of the curve is essential to delivering memorable and impactful experiences for attendees. From corporate conferences to gala dinners, the demand for innovative and engaging entertainment options continues to grow. […]
Driving Innovation in today’s fast-paced world, anticipating change has become a core business competency. Organizations can no longer afford to wait for disruption to happen—they must proactively identify signals of change and adapt before competitors. Whether driven by technological advancements, market volatility, or societal shifts, disruption is inevitable. The key to surviving and thriving lies […]
Power-Ups That Will Help You Reach the Next Level There is something nostalgic about playing video games. With most games, your objectives involve jumping over obstacles, dodging enemy attacks, and collecting the power-ups you’ll need to advance. In real life, stepping on turtles and eating random mushrooms is never a good idea. Still, these video […]
A few months ago, the National Safety Council had me as the closing keynote speaker on the acceleration of risk for their massive annual conference – and I spoke to a few thousand safety professionals on issues surrounding new, emerging. Including a story of what happened when Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons went rogue! […]
The Mindset That Moves Mountains: 5 Speakers Who Turned Adversity into Power What if the next speaker you booked didn’t just deliver a keynote… …but ignited a fire inside every person in the room? ⚠️ These aren’t just speakers. They’re survivors, warriors, and visionaries who turned tragedy into triumph. They didn’t just “overcome adversity.” They […]
Is Complacency Putting You Risk? Lessons From a Fighter Pilot Flying taught me a valuable lesson about life: complacency can cause serious problems for ourselves and those around us. In this newsletter, share a personal story about the dangers of complacency including the following topics: Complacency Consequences What leads to complacency? Signs Complacency is Creeping […]
No results available
Our Mission:
© All rights reserved 2025. Designed using Voxel
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |