Change isn’t part of the process; it is the process. The bad news: nothing is permanent. The good news: nothing is permanent.
Today, with the help of a friend, Brian Gardner (check out his inspiring site), we made the first design change to our site in nearly a decade.
Yes, a decade.
If you think about how drastically the internet and technology has matured in the past ten years, it’s impossible not to wonder why we didn’t update our site design sooner.
All details aside – and there are plenty of them – the answer is: Resistance to change.
Sure, in the past we’ve preached about prioritizing content over design. And yeah, it wasn’t broken, so we didn’t absolutely need to fix it. But these rationalities were just covering up the fact that we were stuck in our comfort zones.
In this subtle, yet obvious way, we weren’t practicing what we preach. But thankfully we finally caught ourselves and came to our senses.
And as we rolled out the new design this morning, I couldn’t help but appreciate the synchronicity of this short email from a coaching/course student that popped up in my inbox at the same exact time (I’m sharing this with permission):
“I just wanted to send a quick note of thanks. Today marks a full year that I’ve been eating right and working out regularly, which is, as you know, something I resisted for years. This time last year I weighed 312 pounds. When I saw my weight on the scale at the doctor’s office I knew it was time for a change. And after some much-needed coaching from you and Angel, a year of exercising my willpower, and using no dieting pills or gastric bands or anything, I went back to the doctor’s office for my annual check-up. ‘199 lbs,’ my doctor said. ‘You know, your positive lifestyle change just added roughly 10 years to your life expectancy.’ My 9-year-old daughter, who came with me, grabbed my hand and said, ‘I look forward to spending those extra years with you, daddy.’”
Wow! Talk about a beautiful reminder to embrace positive change in your life.
Yes, you may feel resistance, like Angel and I did with our site’s redesign. It may not be easy. But we all have to stretch our comfort zones and move our lives forward.
The truth is, living is a risk. Happiness is a risk. If you’re not a little scared sometimes, then you’re not doing it right. Don’t worry about mistakes and failures, worry about what you’re giving up when you don’t even try. Worry about the life you’re not living and the opportunities you’re forgoing, as you merely exist in the safety of your comfort zone. Give yourself permission to be one of the people who survived doing it wrong, who made mistakes, but recovered from them and grew into your strongest self.
That’s what I wish for Angel and me, and that’s what I wish for YOU.
So in a general sense, here are some good reasons it’s time for all of us to embrace change and move onward…
- Everything changes, whether you embrace change or not. – If nothing ever changed there would be no sunrise the next morning. Most of us are comfortable where we are even though the whole universe is constantly changing around us. Learning to accept this is vital to our happiness and general success. Because only when we change, do we grow, and begin to see a world we never knew was possible. And don’t forget, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. So embrace it, and realize that change happens for a reason. It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it. [Read more…]