By nature, we all to a greater or lesser extent resist change at some point.

In their excellent book Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard, Chip and Dan Heath talk about shrinking the change.

For example, if like with many organisations cost cutting is an issue, talking in terms of 20 – 40% cuts is just going to freak people out. To make is less daunting, you can start by breaking the change down into smaller chunks.

By tackling these chunks successfully, you build momentum. And when you build momentum, you increase motivation and belief as to what is possible.

So if you are facing a big change, try to look at ways of breaking it down into achievable chunks.

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• Restructuring
• Acquiring another business
• Cutting numbers of staff
• Implementing new working practices

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that change is difficult or requires some special skills which you might not have. 

In reality, we are dealing with change every day.  The weather, how we are feeling, new food in a different restaurant, visiting new places are just a few examples.  The next time you are faced with a major change, ask yourself the following questions:

What are you resisting?
Why are you resisting?
What are you afraid of?
What is the cost to me of not changing?
What benefits are there of changing?
What would I need to do to make the change?
What is the first step I could take?

Contrary to what we all think we are much more ready and able to make change than we believe.  So what’s the first step for you?