Finding the “right time” to start to make changes
I am writing this at the start of the second week in 2010. Over the past week the press, blogs and online chats have been full of resolutions and advice on how to lose weight/stop smoking/ change jobs…the usual stuff.
Also in the last week in the UK we have been hit by the worst winter weather we have had in the past 30 years. I suspect that for many people the challenges of getting to work, managing childcare because schools have been closed and keeping the house warm and might have taken the focus off any of the usual New Year resolutions.
But is this the right time to be making changes just because a new year has started?
And how can you tell if it is the right time anyway?
The ”right time” often presents itself. It might come from an “aha” moment when you have sudden clarity on what you want. It might be from a chance comment, or something you read or meeting someone new.
This is not meant as an encouragement to sit back and wait for something to happen of course! Taking some – even small – steps towards change can give great results. And you never know – you might find that when you look back on previous successes - that the “right time” was when things came together without you artificially forcing it.
I’m going to give two bits of advice on this – one a generalism and the other more from personal experience. Sadly they are conflicting – the second echoes my own opinion, although the first is still valid.
Confused? Here goes!
1. January is a horrible time for most people. It is in my opinion the most stressful time of the year. Many are paid early in December and January is a long month to boot. Xmas and NY are expensive. So it’s cold. You’re broke. And stressed. You’re probably sick of the family too (in that “I love you but you are driving me crazy now!” way). Is that really the frame of mind you want to be in when you embark on a dramatic change?
2. If you feel a chance is necessary, make it NOW. Not in ten minutes. NOW. Just over a year ago I was pondering this while smoking a cigarette outside in the cold – and as I thought “Oh well. Didn’t make a resolution to give up smoking this year!”, I realised that I could just stop. So I did – and a year later – still going well.
Cliched example, but very true – typically making a change (either in personal or in business terms) involves moving outside your comfort zone and/or taking a risk – both things we prefer not to do. So there will always be a reason to delay!
Do it now instead.
Thank you Matt! And yes they are contradictory … but valuable comparisons all the same. I guess what bothers me that somehow at this time of year people feel pressured into making change when planning/thinking/testing ideas now would still be taking action but not dramatic jerk type. And well done you…