Then, a week later on March 24th, the market made its biggest gain in history. The next day, people panicked and sold stock. Consider the recent events of March 16th, when the market took its biggest single-day drop in history. When things are changing rapidly, we sense that doing something-anything-is better than sitting still. Suddenly drenched in light, the deer panicked, and in trying to run away from the headlights, it ran into the road, leaving the actual safety of inaction for the perceived safety of action.Īs human beings, we’re often guilty of the same. In the headlights, I could see a deer standing in the treeline, a fair distance from the road. In my rearview I could see the sharp bends in the road. But all too often, random panic-generated actions are simply action for action's sake, without reason or purpose.Ī few months ago, I was driving down a winding back road. If unsure of which action to take, we opt to take all action in quick succession. It’s a fight or flight response that assumes that if you just do enough, with enough force and determination, you can overcome the new situation and return things to normal. Panic runs on the theory that any action is better than no action. Unfortunately, the “if I ignore new information, it will go away” mentality is all too common-and rarely, if ever, successful. In the last few weeks, since the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the US, many people have demonstrated this response by throwing “corona parties,” treating it as just a flu, or even defiantly going about life as if nothing has changed.
If you continue to pursue a love interest, even after it has been made clear that your love is unrequited, this, like the rest, is denial, refusing to see what’s before you. If you are in mounting debt, but continue to spend beyond your means, it’s also an expression of denial. It’s a way of creating an alternative reality, a fantasy, that blocks us from experiencing the actuality of what is presently happening.įor example, if you receive a bad medical prognosis, but continue with unhealthy lifestyle habits, it’s because of denial. This happens when our brains create a pattern of thinking that actually belongs to a different context, but continues to operate even when the context changes. But before we explore these best practices, let’s review some of the instinctive and unconscious ways that we all respond to change. In this article I’m going to offer you some formulas you can implement in the weeks and months ahead, to be best suited to thrive in times of change and uncertainty. But when the future is uncertain and unpredictable, we tend to react to change inauspiciously. These may all be positive changes, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy.Īs human beings, we are built with fairly flexible neural pathways, so when circumstances change, we’re able to adapt. Relocating, getting married, starting a new career.
Often, it’s not the actual change but the uncertainty that precipitates unease.
Even when our current situation is not serving us well and we’re stepping into something better, it’s still taxing to shift from the routine to the unfamiliar. We’ve entered a time in which everything is changing daily, and with constant change comes uncertainty.įor most people, change is difficult.
“In times of rapid change it is the learners who inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
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