Why do we hate change? And what can we do about it?

Change is hard. I know, understatement of the decade. Anyone who tells you they enjoy constant change is probably lying to you, or a psychopath.

Kidding!

Sort of.

Why do we hate change so much?

According to the Harvard Business Review, there are 10 solid reasons why. You can read the whole thing here: https://hbr.org/2012/09/ten-reasons-people-resist-chang

The gist is people (myself included) do not enjoy the loss of control and the uncertainty that comes with change. It also creates more work, and don’t we already have enough to do?

I was told recently that I needed to modify my diet. I have a (non-life threatening) medical condition and even though I eat well already, I need to restrict my diet even further. Let me tell you, there has been a lot of huffing and puffing, digging in my heels, and general feelings of “I don’t wanna”. I’ve done it before and it sucks. Change is hard. Especially when it involved giving things up.

So, I decided that I needed to put on my big girl pants and for the sake of my health, I would figure out how to approach this in a way that was manageable. And then I remembered that I created the 5P framework. In case you forgot, the 5P’s are:

Purpose
People
Process
Platform
Performance

You can read more about it here: https://www.trustinsights.ai/blog/2021/07/trust-insights-change-management-framework/

At this point, you’re thinking, “sheesh, she’ll tell us any story to promote her lame framework!” Well, that’s where you’d be right and wrong. I’m telling you this story about myself because I want you to understand that I truly believe in the things I create for Trust Insights. They are an extension of who I am as a person. I use the 5Ps in my everyday life. And, it’s my job to promote my work – so here we are.

Anywho, back to the story. I started thinking about how much I didn’t want to make this change, knowing that I needed to do it anyway. Breaking it down into the 5P framework will at least give me the opportunity to create a plan for myself. What does it look like?

Purpose: Change my diet to get my symptoms under control
People: Me & my husband (who does the cooking)
Process: 1) Not cold turkey (pun intended). I need to eliminate foods gradually so it’s sustainable. 2) Find a list of acceptable foods and create a meal plan.
Platform: A daily symptom tracker to see what’s working and what’s not. Google sheet for meal planning.
Performance: How do I feel? Did my energy go up? Did my other symptoms lessen?

When I look at it like this it doesn’t feel as overwhelming. This is an overly simplified version – I still have to do the research and planning and prepping. But you get the idea. You can apply the 5Ps to just about any problem you need to tackle – at work and in your personal life.

If you have a large project or task that you’ve been putting off because it feels overwhelming, I feel you. It’s hard. Try the 5P Framework to see if it simplifies things. If nothing else, it will help you understand if the project is important and if you have all the pieces.

How do you manage your projects? Come tell me in the Free Slack Group, Analytics for Marketers