By: Moni Singh

Any change, a break from the pattern, evokes the psychological reactions for fear, uncertainty and doubt. This happens irrespective of whether the change is forced upon us or it is a change we desire.

I speak with many people who want to be entrepreneurs and want to make change in their lives. Change is a process that proceeds over time and the best way to create lasting change and endure through the psychological side effects is to understand this process. So, let’s take a look:

Step 1: Trigger

The first step is a trigger… a stimulus that encourages us to look for change. A state of stagnation with the status quo characterized by general slowness, lack of motivation and energy, is one such trigger. I find many people who have had successful first or second carers and are now looking for next chapter in their careers.

Search for meaning, purpose and satisfaction is another trigger. Many come exhausted and from high stress environments with a sense of “too much frenzy for nothing”, like they have been on a constant treadmill. For them, it is about getting off the treadmill and finding their life’s purpose.

Whatever is triggering you to look for a change, it is an important motivator – understand that trigger and remember it as you go through the next steps.

Step 2: Desire

Now that you have realized that a change is needed, the next step is to really want to change it. That deep desire is important to bring focus to your need for change. Imagine as vividly as you can what it would feel like to have that desire fulfilled. This is a crucial step … you are utilizing your thoughts to “feel” the outcome of the change. The stronger those feelings, the stronger will be your motivation to act.

Step 3: Action

Now that you have determined that a change is needed and you desire the change, the next step is to act. Think about what steps you will take to put things in motion to create the change. In my blog post, My 4 Habits for New Beginnings, I describe breaking actions into baby steps… collecting small wins to gain momentum and keep it going. Define your baby steps and have the discipline to do them.

---

---

Step 4: Determination

You will have setbacks and failures as you proceed. It is your determination that will guide you through overcoming those obstacles as you create the lasting change you desire. In their bestselling book, Switch – How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Chip Heath and Dan Heath show that most changes are tough to accomplish because we are always engaged in a constant balancing act between our emotions and our logical brains.

 

About the author: Moni Singh is an entrepreneur and business leader in STEM. As the president of SFK Franchising Inc, she works with many entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-to-be who desire to get into an educational children’s business. Her postings are colored by her own experiences marked by some failed attempts leading up to her successful transition from a corporate career to full time entrepreneurship.