Why Is Change So Difficult?
Last year my wife and I decided to take a few short breaks in the U.K. and get to know a number of cities well rather than one longer holiday. On one of these trips en-route to Cardiff, we stopped off close to the city of Bath. So we thought we’d take a look at Bath. We were more struck by this beautiful city than any other city we visited.
Bath has the most unique and distinctive architecture of any city I’ve visited. Click here to see some photos. One of the reasons for this is that almost all the buildings are made using a certain type of stone that is found close by.
Now suppose the planning committee of Bath decided that, for some reason that makes sense only to a committee, they wanted to rebrand Bath as a modern hi-tech city. They might lay out a plan for a city filled with glass skyscrapers and ultra modern designs.
It’s possible, though unlikely in a committee, that this decision could be born and developed in a night. But to bring it to fruition they would have to contact every building owner and sell them on their plan. Each building owner would have to be sufficiently sold on the value of the project to them to change what is already working for them to fit in with the new design.
It’s doubtful that you could ever change the majority of properties. Even to just make up the list would be time consuming. Then the hassle involved of trying to sell someone on an idea that seems to have little to do with them would be enormous and finally the co-ordination to get everyone on the same song sheet would be enormously draining.
Can it be done?
Yes some people have done it. Martin Luther King fought for civil rights.
photo credit: next sentence
Mother Theresa battled all obstacles to bring dignity to the dying. Nelson Mandela for years stuck to his belief that he could eventually bring unity to South Africa. You could find many more inspiring tales of people who against all odds achieved their dream. The film,’The Pursuit of Happyness’ is one such example of how intelligent perseverance can eventually bear fruit.
Now why the random discussion of Bath architecture?
I wasn’t really discussing Bath or it’s beautiful buildings. I was responding to Fred’s comment on why it can be that you can make a decision to change, yet it is so hard to get completely aligned to that change.
It’s not as simple as changing one or two beliefs, there’s a whole structure built towards one direction. Then suddenly you are changing direction, but the momentum will for some time carry you in the old direction. There are hundreds of beliefs and thoughts, that may seem unconnected, but have been layered onto old goals and ways of thinking. These have to adapt and buy into the new goal or you have to change your decision to fit in with the old way.
It’s like a test of how committed you are.
Will you give up when the going gets tough or are you truly determined?
