It's been a long time since I've read it, but You Can Work Your Own Miracles by Napoleon Hill is fantastic. It's relatively short and it's the last book he wrote before passing away, so it's packed full of old-age wisdom from someone I believe is one of the greatest success authors ever. Every chapter describes a great "miracle of life."

In the chapter called The Law of Growth Through Change - The First Miracle of Life, he begins by stating that change is the one thing in life most bitterly opposed by nearly all people. And even though changing is the one way that we all grow the most, that growth comes at a cost. Doing new things, even exciting ones that we've planned, is uncomfortable. And here's the bad news we all know as well; opposing change is one of the leading causes of failure. That almost warrants saying it again because sometimes what we think is, that if we play it safe and don't constantly embrace change that we won't fail. However, all the data shows just the opposite. The reality is when we fight change, it causes us great pain, failure and even misery. We will be slower in our self growth and may even thwart the growth of those around us.

My experience has shown that resiliency and change go hand-in-hand. You have to have resiliency to be able to "bounce back," to adjust and re-adjust. Most of our lives are a continual series of changes big and small, so keeping energized and inspired in the face of change demands specific skills. I call these skills "change resiliency." The more you work to improve your resilience to change, the better you'll feel and the more personal and business success you'll enjoy. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to determine how well you're adapting to change. The more you can answer with a giant "YES, that's me," the better positioned you are:

• I focus on things I can do something about.
• I am imaginative and brainstorm possibilities.
• I ask questions because I am curious to know how things work.
• I expect to have things work out well for myself and others.
• I play with new developments and find the humor in situations.      

Change is the tool of progress. Clearly the change we like best is the change we initiate and the change we detest the most is that which is put upon us. But all change is good. I use this to my advantage and so can you. Since I know by nature that we don't like change that is put on us, I create change for myself as often as possible. That way I get the experience of  change and get better at adapting to it so when change is put on me, I am better prepared for it. Make sense? I hope so. If not, you might think about getting Hill's book. Even if you read it years ago, it's probably worth a reread. Enjoy!!

 

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