9 Great Ways to Benefit From Change

1. Learn something new every single day. Read something, meet someone new, take a class, take up a new sport, or start a new hobby. Find at least one thing every day that makes your life (and perhaps the lives of those around you) better.

2. Take the heat. A wise man I know has a routine he follows when faced with difficult choices and changes. He sits inside an adobe hut that contains a pit where rocks are piled high and heated to 1500 degrees. The goal is to face forward and take the heat.

   It teaches him that he must come to terms with the difficulties before him and "sweat it out." When he emerges from the hut, he knows what he must do to accept and benefit from the changes before him. The lesson he learns is that when you're confronted with change, embrace it, attack it, understand it, and face it. If you do, you will not only find the opportunities that lie within, but you will also diminish the problems that change presents.

3. Step away. The "heat in the hut" scenario accomplishes two things at once. On the one hand, it allows my friend to face his fears. On the other hand, it gives him a chance to better understand the coming changes. Sometimes you need to step outside of your everyday environment. You need to get the big picture.

   You need to take a physical, mental, and/or spiritual break. You need to step back and say, "Does this really make sense? Am I worrying about something that is ultimately irrelevant?" When you're in the middle of a situation, you can't always see the opportunities and advantages. This is when you need to give yourself a little time and another point of view.

   Being willing to change allows you to move from a point of view to a viewing point—a higher, more expansive place, from which you can see both sides.

   —Thomas Crum,
   writer and speaker

4. Be adaptable. Charles Darwin once said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." This is a major advantage human beings have over other animals. We are probably the most adaptable species on Earth—if we're willing to change.

   Human beings can also be very stubborn. There are times when we see change coming and we think if we adapt, we will be giving in or conforming. That's a negative way of thinking. Instead, think, "What would it be like if I tried to get the most out of this situation?" Use the energy that change provides instead of trying to swim upstream.

   Enjoying success requires the ability to adapt. Only by being open to change will you have a true opportunity to get the most from your talent.

   —Nolan Ryan,
   baseball great

5. Get rid of ego. When we let our ego get in the way of what needs to be done, when we look at a situation and say, "My way is the only way," we are edging greatness out. Of course, it's good to have a healthy, confident ego. But when you get to the point where you think you know best above all others, when you're so busy pointing fingers that you don't look at yourself, then you're letting your ego take over. Remember that when you point a finger at somebody, there are three fingers pointing back at you.

   A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.

   —Spanish proverb

6. Study outside your profession. Find people who are the best at what they do. Study their ideas and methods and figure out how you can apply them to your trade. Respect your curiosity. If you want to know how something works, find out. If you see something that interests you, pursue it. Whatever you learn from these "outside" adventures will make your life much richer, and help you make beneficial changes in your present situation.

   A person needs at intervals to separate himself from family and companions and go to new places. He must go without his familiars in order to be open to influences, to change.

   —Katherine Butler Hathaway,
   author

7. Look to the past and see the benefits of the present to change for the future. Look back and remember who you were at various times in your life, how you thought, what actions you took, and who you surrounded yourself with. Look at what you've accomplished and what changes you made to get to this present point. Imagine what would have happened if you hadn't made those changes. What would have happened to your business, to your relationships, to your life?

   By looking to the past and seeing how changes improved your present life, think about changes you can make for the future. Do this whenever you're faced with change so that, instead of looking at it in a negative light, you can see the benefits change has brought.

8. Get rid of what doesn't make you happy. Remember that if you want to make changes in your life, you have to make changes in your life. If you are truly unhappy, it is probably time to make a major change. Say good-bye to negative people in your life. Find a new job, or a new career. Move to a new city. If you make one change in your life, everything else changes, too. If you wallow in your misery, change will come—but probably not the way you want it to.

9. Take small steps. It's not always necessary to make the major changes in Step 8. Maybe you don't have to change your job or your career; perhaps you can find a different way to do things that are more productive for you. Maybe you don't need to move clear across the country. A new apartment down the block might be enough to get you out of your rut. A huge change taken quickly might open new opportunities, but it might also add a lot more stress.

   Don't just change for the sake of changing; change in a way that makes sense and gets you closer to your goals.