Let it Go

"It's easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worked for you two years ago, but will soon be out-of-date."
- Roger Von Oech

It's often difficult in life to accept change that is not something you yourself may have set out to change. Many of us enjoy the things we can count on and when it starts to change we'll often try and hold on to what once was reliable, sometimes at a cost much greater than the end result of the change. When things change gradually, it's sometimes difficult to even realize they are changing, but if you take a look back you may see that what you count on today is much different than what you originally counted on. If you let go of what you're trying to hold on to, you will likely find yourself much better off in the end.

As a business owner, I am often involved in making difficult decisions to continue to adapt to the market and our customer base. Unfortunately, these decisions may not always immediately seem favorable to all that are involved, but the bigger picture could say differently. When you have hundreds of clients and over 20 employees, the chances of everyone being able to see the bigger picture becomes more of a challenge. It's difficult as a business to let go of something that may have once worked, but most of the time the ones that are not on board are the ones that are having a hard time letting go of "what used to be" themselves. 

This day in age, if your business is being run the same way it was 10 years ago, then you're either a genius that should be thankful you figured it out on the first shot, or you're quickly falling behind in your market as the world around you evolves. Newer businesses with newer technology have a great opportunity to easily come in and take the business you're struggling to keep. 10 years ago, a 12 person company selling for $1 billion with no revenue like Instagram would have seemed absurd. Today, not so much.

This same principal certainly applies in your personal life. In fact, often times the changes in your professional lives deeply affect your personal lives and vice versa. Trying to fight the changes that are happening will often land you in a less favorable place in both aspects of your life! When you see change happening, try and step back and see what positives it can bring. There may be negatives that come with it, but if you can't see the positives, then how can you make the right decision on how to handle the change? It's certainly not always easy, but there are countless times I've heard someone refer to being "better off" from a change they once fought. Just imagine how much better of a position they may be in if they would have accepted the change in the first place!

Give change a chance. Sometimes you may not like the outcome, but if the change is inevitable, then the only way it can be a positive thing is if you give it the chance to be. Once you see where the change lands you, you can either embrace it or make a change yourself.