Celebrate Change

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.
- Steve Jobs

There are really two types of change. There is simple change, as in, “Please change the light bulb”, or “Go change your clothes”. Then there is Change with a capital C, as in “Go Change the world” or “I need to Change my career”. It is important not to confuse these two types of change! When you’re feeling stuck and not making progress on your goals, you probably need to make a Change with a capital C, not just some small changes on the edges of your life.

Unfortunately, our natural tendency is to make a lot of little changes and do all kinds of activities in order to avoid making a real Change. There is an old saying - “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” In order to become a “Change-maker” with a capital C - whether in your own life, or in the wider world, requires a real shift in your thinking. You can’t keep doing the “same old same old” and expect different results!

However, one of the biggest roadblocks to making a Change vs. making changes is that we’re afraid of failing, embarrassment and loss. Rarely do we fail at changing a light bulb. But Changing our career or hometown or friend group - those Changes can be daunting to say the least.

That’s why we often procrastinate on making Change until it’s foisted upon us. We get fired from a job that we should have left years ago. Our spouse walks out after we fail to Change the way we interact. We don’t start exercising until after the health crisis.

But, what if you knew you could Change and innovate, despite failure? One of the more remarkable chapters of Steve Jobs' life was after he was fired from Apple. Rather than wallow in bitterness, he Changed himself and started NeXT computing, where he kept refining his vision for personal computers. That innovative operating system eventually wound up serving as the foundation for the MacOS when he returned to Apple ten years later!

Instead of making a lot of changes this week, stop and really make that one Change with a capital C you’ve been avoiding! It may not be the perfect Change, but it will definitely propel you in the right direction.