Printed in the Fall 2020 issue of Quest magazine.
Citation: Hebert, Barbara, "Viewpoint: Change and Our Response to It" Quest 108:4, pg 8-9
Barbara Hebert
National President
Change is a part of life: few if any things remain static. For this reason, theories of change exist in many areas, including business, education, healthcare, and psychology, and so on. They may help us to deal with changes more effectively.
Organizational psychologist Kurt Lewin created a model for management change that is frequently used in business. Lewin’s theory requires looking at the various aspects of a given situation, setting aside prior knowledge, and replacing it with new information.
Lewin’s three-stage model includes the following steps: unfreezing, change, and refreezing. For example, a business unfreezes its current process in relation to a given situation and looks deeply into all procedures related to it. Once this analysis has been completed and more efficient processes are identified, the business makes changes. After these are in place, the business then refreezes the newly implemented processes.
While each of these stages involves certain pragmatic steps, the emotional response of the people involved is worth exploring in more detail. To explore it, we can look to the Change Curve, a model that is also frequently used in business. Based on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s work in grief and loss, the Change Curve model has four stages. The first, identified as status quo, is the situation in place when people are first introduced to upcoming change. The response is frequently shock or denial. Stage two, disruption, occurs when individuals begin to realize that change is actually going to happen. At this point, many begin to experience fear and anger as well as resentment and concern. Some may protest, while others may even resort to active resistance. Stage two is a difficult time for many and if not controlled can spiral into chaos.
Exploration is the third stage of the Change Curve, and it is the turning point. During this stage, individuals begin to let go of their fear and start to explore the changes that are occurring. They begin to experience both the positives and the negatives of the new situation. They test the changes for themselves, determine how they will apply to their own jobs and lives, and discover how they must adapt to them. As this exploration continues, many individuals begin to accept the new conditions and feel some degree of optimism.
The final stage is rebuilding. At this point, individuals have accepted the changes and are now committed to them. They are rebuilding the ways in which they work.
Some might wonder why I have gone into such detail about these business models, but it seems to me that they can help explain what many are experiencing in our world today.
Recent and current events have focused the attention of many on the need for change. In fact, we are watching it happen before our eyes. We see people in various stages of that change and experiencing a wide variety of feelings about it. These feelings range from concern to outright anger to optimism and hope for the future. We also see people exhibiting behaviors that stem from those feelings.
If we look at the Change Curve model, many people today probably fall into the second stage: disruption. They have realized that change is happening and are experiencing fear, anger, resentment, and concern. It may even feel as if the world is in chaos and that everything is falling apart. However, we know that there are other stages to follow: exploration and rebuilding. We don’t know when they will occur, but we know that they will. This provides a solid foundation from which to view the changes that are happening and also gives us hope for the future.
This issue of Quest magazine is dedicated to articles about the Ageless Wisdom. For students of this wisdom, learning about change models can be valuable. The Ageless Wisdom teaches that apart from the Ultimate Reality, change is a constant in the universe. Lao Tzu reputedly said, “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” All of life is on a pilgrimage that requires change, growth, and expansion. In order to create something new, the old must be taken down or even destroyed.
We are also taught that what happens in the macrocosm is mirrored in the microcosm. As life continues to unfold and expand, so too do we unfold and grow. To allow for growth, the old ways must go. This applies not only to life but also to our own consciousness. We must let go of our old ways: our thoughts, perspectives, perceptions, conditioning, and so on.
In the Theosophical Society, we frequently talk about the importance of self-introspection for seeing what needs to be discarded as we move forward. This time of transition brings self-introspection into the spotlight. In this process, we look at all aspects of ourselves. We may look at what keeps us attached to the status quo, or at the origins of our thoughts, that is, our conditioning. Our families, those who teach us, our friends, and even the society that surrounds us have conditioned us to have certain expectations about life and other people.
What do we think about the way life should be lived or the way in which we should relate to others? Where did these ideas originate? As young children, were we encouraged to see others as dangerous or different, or less important? As young children, did we receive messages that in order to be safe, we need to be in control of others and the world around us?
As human beings, we will likely experience some sense of disruption in relation to the many changes that are occurring in our world. There is nothing wrong with experiencing such feelings. Humans have them for a reason, and they must be experienced and acknowledged. Then we can move forward. In this process, self-introspection can enable us to understand our reaction to change and facilitate our adjustment to it. It may help us avoid the extreme reactions of many others. Without it, we may find it far more difficult to deal with the emotions that arise.
For me, this is part of our work on the spiritual path, for which self-introspection is essential. This work involves accepting change as well as experiencing the feelings engendered by it. Through self-introspection and maneuvering our way through the changes and the experiences, we learn and grow. Our consciousness expands; as a result, the consciousness of all life expands as well.
We can learn to deal with change in many ways: studying the Ageless Wisdom, finding models of change that speak to us, listening to our own inner voice, and self-introspection. Regardless of how we do it, we must deal with change, and we must change. As painful and uncomfortable as it may be, let us all embrace the opportunity for self-awareness and change. Let us move forward together.