Change creates opportunity for progress
I’m starting the New Year with a new blog theme (Twenty Seventeen). I really liked the old one (My Life), especially its three column format, so I kept it a while. But I’m following a principle that change is needed to keep things fresh. If we don’t plan positive change, our product becomes stale and stagnant. I have learned that staying with the comfortable keeps me in a rut and eliminates the opportunity for progress which change usually brings. I may change again if I am not satisfied with the result of my new theme. I’m hoping for a fresh look, more readable fonts, different menu locations, and increased ability to handle tables. Looks like I’m getting some new video capability thrown in. Perhaps that will challenge me to grow in a new area. The whole exercise caused me to reflect on the role of change in what I do.
Change can be confusing
I discovered again that there is a natural resistance to change. The old is familiar. Change creates work. In the case of a theme change, I have to manually reset the menu and widget structure of the blog. I need to choose pictures and backgrounds. There is always the hidden fear that the change will be for the worse. The wisdom of past experience lessens this risk immensely, but it can feel risky anyway.
Change has a logical side and a psychological side
“A good exercise when you face change is to make a list of the logical advantages and disadvantages that should result from the change, and then another list indicating the psychological impact. Just seeing this on a sheet of paper can be clarifying” (Bob Biehl in Increasing Your Leadership Confidence p. 46).
There are several up sides to my blog theme change. When I redo a theme, I learn in the process, sometimes reluctantly, but I learn. That’s a good thing. Usually the new theme has capabilities that the old one did not. A new theme presents the blog reader with a fresh look which hopefully creates new interest. For example, this one seems much cleaner in appearance. From the blogger’s standpoint, deficiencies in the old theme can be remedied. For example, this one handles tables much better. I’m excited about the opportunity for a video message provided by this theme.
Concerning creating change in an organization, here is a great resource to read; John Maxwell, Developing the Leader Within You, chapter 4 “Creating Positive Change.”
