Utilizing Change As A Catalyst For Long-Term Growth

Life happens, and not always the way we expect it to. Every single day we face change, stress, and uncertainty. What if you could learn to thrive no matter what life throws your way? Resilience expert Adam Markel and his inspiring guests explore breakthrough strategies to fully embrace change and build the resilience required to become change-proof.

Hey everybody, it's Adam Markel, and I am so excited to be here today. I'm so thrilled to be sitting here with all of you to talk more about change than I've even talked about in the past. This topic has just gotten that much more rich given the circumstances that we are all living in, that being unprecedented change, unprecedented uncertainty that seems to be the absolute norm for so many of us these days, whether it's change in our personal lives or change in our business lives. And it really was something that I started to deal with very early in my life. I think for the most part, I always resisted change. I think that's kind of our first instinct in some ways is to resist change, to see change as something that is not always beneficial or to see it as potentially just a lot of work and something that then in fact can be even threatening. So I would approach change from a place of fear. And I think that in so many ways, that is the default mode for many of us to approach change in that way. In the work that I do these days, which is primarily speaking Speaking to organizations, companies about change, speaking to them about initially the principles of pivoting and the book that I wrote on that topic and how it is that we are able to pivot elegantly, gracefully, easily, and productively in our personal lives as well as in our business lives. And taking that conversation about pivoting and now really reframing it in some ways to embrace the state of affairs that we're all living in and getting to a deeper level, as I said at the beginning, where we don't just accept change. We don't just work with change, we embrace change and we are actually agnostic to change. What do I mean by that? I mean, we don't see change as something that is threatening, but that our instantaneous response to change is actually one of flexibility. There's, there's 3 steps to this new mindset, if you will, about pivoting and embracing change. And those 3 steps are outlined in a brand new book that I've got coming out. Called Change Proof. And this philosophy and this methodology, if you will, about resolving change and being instantly flexible in the face of change is something that our podcast is now going to itself pivot toward, which is so wonderful to just sort of eat the cooking, if you will. So with this episode, I am officially announcing our team's reframe of the podcast. Beautifully done, and it has taken a village, but we are now going to be the Becoming Change Proof podcast. So moving from the Conscious Pivot to Becoming Change Proof. Resilience. It's the unsung hero in every success story that you will ever hear about. And in times of massive change and disruption, the kind of rapid change that we're all experiencing as leaders, as business owners, as entrepreneurs, we have to learn how to not only increase our own resilience, but that of our teams. So right now we have a powerful opportunity for you to find out just how resilient you are. Some years ago, my team and I created the resilience assessment that more than 5,000 business leaders across the globe have taken. And all you have to do to get your own free resilience leader assessment is go to resiliencerank.com. It takes less than 3 minutes, and it's our gift to you for being the leader that you already are. Other free resources and tools will accompany your score instantly. So go to resiliencerank.com and find out just how resilient you are. What does it mean to become change-proof? Well, that is the subject that we are going to take up in all of our episodes, primarily with business leaders, with people who are running organizations, managing people, leading change in various ways, whether in the for-profit sector or in the not-for-profit area. In the private sector or in the public area, really looking at how it is that leaders can be flexible in the face of change and lead others in the same direction. The ability to take 3 specific actions with regard to change. And this is something that we discuss at great length in the new book, Change Proof, subtitle being Leveraging the Power of Uncertainty to Build Long-Term Resilience. So ultimately, why we wanna become change-proof, agnostic to change, Not seeing change as a threat, not being daunted by change, but rather embracing change and using it as a catalyst for our long-term growth and ultimately our long-term resilience, is that if we can do those things, if we can see change in that way, if we can utilize change, then ultimately we are making use of one of the greatest universal principles that there is. In fact, it may be the ultimate principle of the universe, That everything is in a constant state of flux and everything is in a constant state of change, of never-ending change. So we are either growing from change or we are shrinking from it. We are either growing ourselves or growing in our roles as leaders, or we are shrinking from those roles. We are growing or we are dying in so many ways, just like in nature. We see it all the time. It's the same exact thing. So the 3 things That I want to introduce you to in this episode, the first episode of Becoming Change Proof, is to pause, to ask, and to choose. The podcast in many ways will be interviewing leaders, conversations that I will have with leaders about how it is that they deal with change, what their current methodology is, how it is that they in fact are cultivating cultures of resilience, and where it is that they are finding that their cultures are not resilient. So much of our research these days has been to discover that People are exhausted. They're exhausted from the unending uncertainty, from this marathon of disruption that seems to have morphed into one marathon after another, and it is never-ending. So we are seeing tremendous signs of both exhaustion and burnout in the workplace and in other places as well in regard to people's personal lives. So the first thing that we want to unpack, and we will start that today in this first episode, Is to pause. What does it mean to pause? How is it that we learn to utilize and leverage the power of the pause in our lives individually? And again, as our lives as leaders, whether we're leading a family, whether we're leading teams, whether we're leading ourselves, how is it that we use the power of the pause as a method to reset and ultimately become more resilient in the process? Pause, ask, and then choose. The ask, the power of asking questions so that we ultimately are able to utilize to pause, to gain perspective, to be able to ask questions, including questions we don't even know the answers to, questions that we can't simply research and find the answers to, big questions. The ability to ask questions is one of the most powerful things that we have. It's one of the great freedoms that we enjoy. And it is so underutilized. So often it is that we are more trying to prove answers that we have already decided upon, that we are defending Our sense of what is right and what is wrong. And often that creates massive blind spots for us in ways that we can understand and acknowledge. And in so many ways that are hidden from us, that are literally blind spots, literally hidden from view. So asking questions, it's one of the ways that we get greater clarity, greater visibility. And it's in that process of gaining feedback that we find out so that ultimately we can choose. We pause, we ask, and then ultimately we choose. This is our greatest freedom of all. Freedom of choice. And in so many ways, our lives are a product of the choices we've made, our businesses, the success of the businesses that we're in, the endeavors that we are involved in are the product of the choices that have been made so far. So what we have in this moment is this powerful opportunity to choose. So how do you choose? What are the choices? What's your process for coming to a decision about certain things? I think so many people are fatigued at this point by much, including decision. Decision fatigue is a pretty regular thing these days. It's part of what is contributing to that collective burnout. And as we've seen and what we're experiencing right now is something being called the Great Resignation. In, in a recent conversation, in fact, an episode of the Change Proof podcast that you will hear is with the CEO and chairman of WD-40. His name is Gary Ridge. And in our conversation, we talk about not just the Great Resignation, but what Gary refers to as the Great Escape. And why it is that people are actually escaping the workplace and what it is that they're escaping to, what it is that they're escaping from, and how it is that we as leaders can retain the engagement and the enthusiasm and the passion of our people so that we're not losing talent, but in fact, we're attracting even greater talent in an environment, in a market where people are leaving the corporate world or changing their jobs in droves. Wow, the pace of change over the last couple of years has been rapid. And if you're a leader, a business owner, an entrepreneur, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Every day it's something different and something new. But the one thing that I've learned in performing at the height of all of those roles has been that we must be resilient. In fact, it's the unsung hero in every success story that you will ever hear about, and it's It's the reason why my team and I created the resilience assessment that more than 5,000 business leaders across the globe have taken. And all you have to do to get your own free resilience leader assessment is go to resiliencerank.com. It takes less than 3 minutes, and it's our gift to you for being the leader that you already are. Other free resources and tools will accompany your score instantly. So go to resiliencerank.com and find out just how resilient you are. So again, you may be listening to this now and you yourself are one of those folks who has decided to resign, to escape, to move on to greener pastures. You are pivoting. You may be somebody who is leading others. You're a manager, you're an executive in your organization, maybe a small organization, maybe just a few people, or maybe something quite large. Of course, the principles are the same. Regardless of the size. And so for you, you're in the midst of looking at your own talent and how it is that you can inspire and retain and engage your talent to stay, not just to stay, but to really be living their best lives, to be thriving in the environment that you are helping to create and to curate. And so this conversation, not just my conversation with Gary Ridge or other CEOs, but this entire conversation around becoming change-proof is going to be so Valuable to you, so viable, and hopefully something that you'll be able to put into place. Because each and every episode, we're going to be talking about what are the tangible ways that you help people to better deal with change, to use it as a catalyst for growth, how it is that each of us individually can be a model for resilience in the office, in all of our dealings with people, whether those dealings are in a formal office setting or they're virtual, as is the case. They're remote in so many ways these days. And of course, where does that translate into our personal lives, into our lives at home, into our relationships, into our relationships with ourselves, into our health, even into our finances. So the parameters will be flexible enough to encounter and engage with that content as well, because dealing with change is not just something siloed to the office or to our businesses, but it's something that is ever-present in our lives across the board. So I am so excited about being able to introduce this brand new content from this brand new book and hope that you absolutely adore it, love it. We'd love to hear from you. Of course, we'd love to get your comments and your engaged response to conversations that we're cultivating and the questions that we're putting out there. We hope that you will in fact leave comments, that you will go to adamarkel.com/podcast, leave your comment, leave your questions, because we'd love to engage with you there. And that you'll share the episodes with other people. You know, we absolutely love to engage with people from all over the globe, from every form of business and in every walk of life. And we can't do that without your assistance as well. So where you can refer episodes, to other people. We'd love that to happen. And of course, we'd also love to continue to curate content that you're looking for. So you have some specific requests of people that we might interview or conversations we might be able to have, that would be fantastic. And of course, the book is due out shortly, Change Proof. We have a website, changeproof.com, of course, that you can go and find out more about it, or you can get it on our website on the Adam Markel site as well. But one thing is for sure, as I know my own name is Adam, Change is a constant. And so there's one constant, C, that is so important to all of us. And that is, how is it that we make use of this universal law that nothing stays the same? Things that are growing are the direction that we all want to be headed in. We're not looking to bounce back to anything. We have to bounce forward. And things that don't move forward actually deteriorate. It's the law of entropy is what we're talking about. Things disintegrate. They move from order to chaos. And the good news is that they can move from chaos to order as well. So I know for sure, not knowing where I'm meeting you at this moment in your life, I know one thing is for certain. This podcast will serve you, will meet you where you are, and hopefully will be just fun and entertaining along the way. We're going to cover some really cool stuff, lots of case studies and research, current research about brain science, about the science of gratitude, about the way that we are built to be resilient and where it is that In fact, we are in the way of our resilience. How it is that we can cultivate, create brand new rituals for resilience. We're going to talk about everything from 30-second practices to 30-minute-long practices and beyond. How it is that you can toggle between your recovery, between your reset and your rest even, and your performance. So all that and so much more is what waits in store. Again, I know a lot of you have been with us for many years through the Conscious Pivot podcast and well into 200 So I so appreciate the time, the love, the attention that you've given us so far, and look forward to continuing to serve you and have you be a part of what is a vibrant and growing community of people who want to make friends, make change their best friend, make friends with change, as Ram Dass would say. So without further ado, I will end this episode short and sweet, just to say again, thank you so much for being a part of our community. I so love the fact that it has grown and that we have been able to do something valuable in the world. And we're going to continue to strive to do that. So again, please let us know any way that we can be of service in that arena. And remember again, that when we're talking about resilience, we're talking about how it is that we leverage the power of the chaos, the uncertainty, the adversity that has not just been created by the pandemic, but is really the normal state of affairs in all honesty. How do we leverage that for long-term resilience? Well, that's the topic. We don't have to answer that all in a moment. It's going to be a series of great answers from great people. And I look forward to sharing that all with you very, very soon. I'll just say for now, I hope that you are in a wonderful place, that you are warm, that you're safe, that you're healthy, that you are prosperous. And that ultimately, as I have written on my sweatshirt, on my hoodie, which some of you may be seeing, some of you will not if you're just listening, but it says, I love And that is in many ways the story of my great pivot out of being an 18-year veteran of the legal profession, waking up in the morning and feeling often a great deal of anxiety and even dread at the start of the day. And then ultimately deciding to make a small pivot, a small, tiny little change in my morning ritual, in my waking ritual. And that was to begin with that mantra, with those 4 simple but really profound words, I love my life. I love my life, my entire life. And that includes the vast challenges that are a part of my life and a part of all of our lives for sure. So I realize that's going to be a tall order for some of you to feel that way, but that's okay. We have to begin exactly where we are. And maybe in this moment, the only thing that is sort of a stepping stone, even for me right this second, is just to be in gratitude. So think of one thing right in this moment as we say goodbye, For the first time to our Becoming Change Proof podcast, what's one thing that you can feel good about in this moment? What's one thing that you can appreciate about yourself or about your world right now? What's one thing that you are grateful for in this moment? I really hope you're enjoying this episode of the Change Proof podcast. If you've not yet gone out and gotten your own copy of Change Proof, It's not too late. You can get your copy right now by going to changeproof.com and not only getting the book and all the bonuses there, but getting access to our proprietary resilience assessment tool. It'll just take you 3 minutes to do, and it's something that will really help you to utilize the book even more effectively to create practices and rituals and habits that will increase your mental, emotional, physical, and even spiritual resilience for the long term. Again, go to changeproof.com to get your copy today. And with that love and with that wonderful intention, I will say ciao for now.

Thanks for listening, everyone. We hope you now have even more tools and greater insights to build resilience. And become change-proofed. Help us inspire others by sharing this episode and leaving your comments over at adammarkel.com/podcast. For more resilience tips and strategies, including support for building change-proof teams, visit adammarkel.com/becomingchangeproof.