It's a bit hard to notice here in Florida, but if we pay attention we can tell that fall is upon us. Just as the beginning of fall signals the start of cooler weather, football season, back to school and upcoming fall holidays, it brings incredible color as the leaves begin to change. Fall, with lots of changing colors, cool crisp air and sometimes even the smell of burning leaves (yep, we could do that back then!) is definitely one of the things I miss most about moving to Florida over 30 years ago. Of course, I was in my late teens...really too young to appreciate them like I do now. So when I become reluctant to change, I sometimes remind myself of the beauty of autumn. I'm reminded that while for many it sparks the dread of a long cold winter, for others it sparks the excitement of the emerging new season. That's the part I focus on - the joy of change. The exhilaration it brings; the hope of something better.

There are a lot of references to the changing of seasons that make good sense to me, but the big one is that change really is a measuring tool. It's a reference point. There's always a "before" and "after". For people like me who love to measure and track progress or lack thereof, it's vitally important to watch for and rely on the consistent changes. Changes that are set by nature, like seasons or holidays which are set by society, are placeholders and really good for people like me. If nothing else, they are consistent and followed by many, so acceptance is high. Changes that are more sporadic, self-imposed or not, are a whole different story. In order of preference, self-imposed changes are better than those imposed by others. Whose ideas to do something different do we like; our own. Whose ideas to do something different do we resist; others!

Now to be realistic, there are of course gradients of change; likewise gradients of resistance. But the truth is we like our own ideas and are skeptical of other people's ideas. And nowhere is this more evident than in sales. Nowhere is there more resistance than when someone feels they are "being sold". People like to buy. Heck, many people love to buy. But rarely does someone like to be sold. And it doesn't matter if the "product" is a physical thing, an idea or a new way of doing something. There's not enough allotted space here for me to go into the psychology of why we act this way, so I hope you'll just trust that what I'm saying is true.

We "sell" ourselves all the time. It's the only way we change. Sometimes it's a hard sell and sometimes it's easy. But make no mistake our little subconscious is at work selling us all the time and it seems to work hard to convince us that change is bad. I guess it dates back to the Neanderthal period and provided protection before our brains fully evolved. I guess it's instinctual but I think it's a good thing to examine our resistance and our reluctance to change; partially because it seems to get naturally worse with age. It's another sign of aging; a sign of less to look forward to...less hope for a better future.

So how about fighting back? How about remembering at this time of year when fall is upon us, that change is about renewal. Change offers opportunities. Can you get your head around it and quit putting off something you've become resistant to or reluctant about, like implementing a new process, taking a business risk, changing the way you prospect for new business, implementing a new technology or software? I'll bet you can.