American dramatist and screenwriter Sidney Howard remarked, “One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.” Change always costs you something, if not monetarily, then in time, energy, and creativity. In fact, if change doesn’t cost you anything, then it isn’t real change!
As you consider how to make the changes needed to improve and grow, it is important to measure the cost of change compared to the cost of the status quo. You have to do your homework. That often makes the difference between:
Change=Growth
and
Change = Grief
What will the changes you desire really cost you? Management expert Tom Peters provides a great perspective on the subject. He suggests, “Don’t rock the boat. Sink it and start over.” If you desire to be creative and do something really innovative, that’s sometimes what it takes. You must destroy the old to create something new. You cannot allow yourself to be paralyzed by the idea of change.
