The Hidden Power of Change

By Dwight Bain, Life Coach & Counselor



Major change is almost impossible to manage alone, that’s why leaders turn to others for insight and guidance during times of massive change. They know that taking the right action quickly can prevent a stressful situation from getting worse and in fact may surprise them by turning into unexpected success. I’ve had the chance to come alongside thousands of leaders over the last twenty five years to coach them through major life transitions in their personal and professional life and have learned something new about change every day. While every difficult situation was complex in different ways, I discovered some common elements of a remarkable, although often, hidden source of energy that only became available during times of massive change. When used, this secret power gave these leaders the ability to achieve results instead of experiencing regrets while facing unbelievable levels of stress and pressure. My greatest joy was to coach them from pressure and problems to move forward with boldness by facing the changes necessary to gain personal strength and confidence.



Every change brings a chance to self improve and develop in countless ways, that’s why I’m sharing these insights with you now. I want you to benefit from the hidden power of change in your life every single day. As you read these insights, think about your own situation and the changes you are facing right now, as well as the changes you need to make over the next few months in order to achieve greater success. Plan on using a highlighter to underline or circle the insights that reveal a part of you that is sick of feeling stuck in the same old pattern and is ready for a new perspective on change. Then take those highlighted concepts and begin to reshape them into action steps that you can use for guidance and motivation in your own journey of harnessing the hidden power of change.



Change is common. Taking positive action about it is rare.


Change is the most common element in life, just like the atom, which is the most common element in the universe. It’s everywhere and in everything but only a few studied it to understand how to harness the power of splitting an atom to develop massive amounts of energy- the energy of the universe itself! This common element had within it the power to develop – or – destroy the world. It’s the same for you and me, since the way that we deal with change will make our world a better place or lead to destroying it.


Every little change makes big change possible. That’s why you have to do little things differently every day to see big things change over time.


Everyone is moving forward but not everyone is on the same track. That’s why some people always look busy but never seem to accomplish much.


Since change is the most common factor in life why do so many people fear it? They realize that they can’t completely control it so they completely give up. When you learn to manage change instead of avoid it, you regain control of yourself and then have the power to change the situation.


Change is the most basic element of life however; it is so common that it is often overlooked. That’s why most people dismiss change as another misery in life to manage around. Leaders who learn to boldly confront change and take steps to master it find amazing focus and meaning.


Change creates energy. It can either “psych you up” with heightened motivation to take action, or “psych you out” with fear and anxiety. Leaders maximize this hidden power of change to gain strength in difficult times.


When a leader awakens to see how fast change actually moves, they gain the ability to zoom past others like they were asleep. At first this is exciting and fun to have the ability to move so fast; then it becomes increasingly frustrating. Because the goal of a leader is to use the power of change to wake others up instead of just selfishly using that power to manipulate others.


Crisis reveals who you are- what you do about the crisis reveals who you will be.


Comfort doesn’t bring change, comfort brings complacency. Only two things bring about radical and dynamic change- crisis and choice. One requires courage to boldly face issues and the other requires confidence to take bold action.


Life is changing at lightening speed. Change with it at lightening speed and you will find amazing success; wait for it and you’ll be left in the dust of those who took a chance and moved to a new level of success.


Leaders who say, “let’s wait and see” are really saying, “I’m too weak to express my opinion,” since “wait and see” usually means “wait and sink.”


Systems are the key to success or failure in life; change the system- and you change your life!


Big change creates a chance to build big confidence from taking bold action; instead of just building more complacency by choosing avoidance.


Change is the only method you can use to cash a reality check.


Understanding change is the key to building a good life- mastering change is the key to building a great legacy.


How well you respond to change is the best indicator of how successfully you will live.


If everything is changing, then you have a tremendous advantage if you are changing with it, since the gap between the changers and non-changers is growing every minute.


People who master change will always be in demand as leaders, because as they grow stronger, people around them who haven’t changed will need their guidance more than ever. This gap between the ‘have’s’ and the ‘have not’s will grow dramatically in the future.


Since everything is changing faster than ever, how come everyone isn’t changing faster than ever to keep up?


Change forces you to make quick choices; so figure out now what you believe is right in order to make the right choice when it happens. You can’t wait on this, so do it now.


Fast and furious, slow and steady or ignorance and bliss are all ways to manage change. Since the way you manage change is the way you manage your life, if you want to figure out how successful someone will be in the future, just watch how they deal with change today.


Excuses are ways to avoid taking responsibility-which leads to criticism of others; reasons are ways to accept responsibility and lead to changing yourself instead of trying to change others.


We build our future one day at a time by how wisely we manage the change happening around us today.


Fame doesn’t equal fortune, which is why so many celebrities end up broke. They banked their futures on the myth that popularity brings profits instead of reinventing themselves through the process of continual self-improvement and change.


Some people would rather keep the people in their life under control by never risking a change, than to push forward and hear those same people boldly cheer for them as they take the risk to move forward toward achieving a positive difference.


You control change by the way you control your choices. You have the power to break the patterns that have held you back, and that power is wrapped up in one word, "choice."


Everything in life is changing quickly so everyone in life has to be changing fast to keep up, or risk being run over and left behind. Few will change fast, and those few will be the leaders.


Change can lead to a crisis, which is stressful; or to a choice, which is also stressful; and staying the same creates the highest levels of stress! When you risk taking control of the changes around you, stress goes down as your strength and confidence goes up. Good trade.


Most people run from change, leaders run toward it. They know that the courage required to run toward change is the down payment for the success they will experience on the other side of it.


The difference between a challenge or crisis is based on your perspective of the problem, the resources available to you and most importantly how well you respond to change.


The old saying "only the strong survive" is true- and real strength comes from facing the crisis instead of figuring out who to blame.


Change reveals your weak spots that needed attention anyway; you just weren't aware of it. This is the greatest secret of change- pressure points the way to personal growth.


The size of the change shows the size of the problem that you have to deal with and the size of the team needed to manage it. Big change can’t be mastered by one person; and was never designed to be handled alone. That’s why you have to ask for help when things are changing rapidly instead of slipping into silence.


An unexpected change feels like an explosion inside-it's stressful, scary and stretches you in ways you didn't anticipate. The end result of this process is strength as you stick with it.


Life is about change and change is stressful. How you deal with the stress will make you better or it will continue to build until you have to deal with it anyway. There is no strength without overcoming significant amounts of stress.


Mr. Goodwrench is right-you gotta pay. Paying now is difficult, waiting to pay later is usually disastrous because the price is always much greater. Paying now is the only way to successfully manage change.


Surrender is the key to solve the anxiety of change, so learn to flow with change instead of fleeing from it or trying to fight it. Change your mindset about this process and you will just about eliminate worry and anxiety from your life.


Since you cannot grow without changing- learn to master the change process early in life in order to achieve early success.


The process of life is changing incredibly fast, and that's stressful, but if you press through the stress, you will always gain strength and success.


Move from frustration to fulfillment by changing your mindset about making the right choice in a difficult situation.


Life is about change and change is stressful, as you press through the stress you will become strong.


Every change involves a risk and the greater the change, the greater the risk. But great rewards require bold action, so take the risk to change and you will be boldly rewarded.


Making a positive change in your life today is going to be painful, but the long term payoff is powerful.


Avoiding change doesn't make it go away, it makes it grow bigger and you still have to deal with it, so tackle it now, while it's small enough to manage.


Be direct with change and you will take charge of your life.


Change often forces you to face the things that you probably needed to face anyway.


Change will test you. How you react to the change determines if you pass to go to the next level of growth, which will require more change!


Every change involves a choice-face it and grow-or avoid it and get stuck. This is your chance to choke up or buck up!


Change is hard, but not changing is always harder.


If you face change you have a chance of making a difference. If you don't face it you never will, and will likely let life pass you by.


You can't control change, but you can control your reaction to it.
We'll finish with more insights about the "Hidden Power of Change" in our next edition.

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About the author- Dwight Bain is dedicated to helping people achieve greater results. He is a Nationally Certified Counselor, Certified Life Coach and Certified Family Law Mediator in practice since 1984 with a primary focus on solving crisis events and managing major change. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and partners with media, major corporations and non-profit organizations to make a positive difference in our culture. Access more counseling and coaching resources designed to save you time by solving stressful situations by visiting his counseling blog with over 300 complimentary articles and special reports at www.LifeWorksGroup.org

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