By Markey Read

So, you are thinking about making a career change -- maybe a small one, maybe a major one -- and you don’t want to take a temporary drop in pay, start at “the bottom”, or loose your “benefits”. Hmmm . . . .Sounds suspiciously like you really don’t want to make a change.

Everyday people come into my office and tell me how unhappy they are at work, or how depressed they are to be unemployed and when I recommend that they find new employment -- most people are struck with fear and resist the idea of change. Most people are not willing to make the necessary changes to obtain their goal of happy and fulfilling employment. They are unwilling to move through a period of uncertainly and challenge in order to reap the rewards available to those who risk.

“Human nature being what it is, a part of you will fight hard to keep you pretty much the way you are,” says Price Pritchett in Fast Growth, a Career Acceleration Strategy.

Resistance to change is the primary obstacle to success -- for you and your employer. The funny thing about change is that change is the only constant. Learning to change -- and yes it is a learned skill for many -- enables you to rebound and thrive in this ever changing environment.

“You should get to know the enemy within,” says Pritchett. “Understand how resistance operates. Expect it to attack, and learn how to conquer it. Otherwise, your growth efforts are likely to fizzle out far short of what you for as resistance overcomes your ambitions.”

“You might as well start out expecting it to cause trouble for yourself,” he continues. “As soon as you kick off your fast growth effort, resistance will probably rear its ugly [and predictable] head.”

Since we know that change and our resistance to it are guaranteed, why not embrace them both and see what happens on the other side. If you are dissatisfied now and resisting change because you are afraid, then you will probably stay dissatisfied. If you choose to risk releasing your current level of predicable dissatisfying comfort for what you really want, you stand to gain everything -- especially your happiness and vitality.

Yes, you may have to release some of the ”creature comforts” that your current employer and most of society has lured you into believing that you cannot live without. But consider what your unhappiness is costing you (and maybe even your family) in health challenges, for your “little luxuries” that you deserve for staying at this job, and all the time and energy it takes to think about, talk about, and process how dissatisfied you are.

Here is the good news and the bad news -- the only way to deal with resistance to change is to keep moving no matter how loud the chatter in your head gets. Pritchett reminds us, “resistance grows stronger with any evidence of weakening resolve, but it yields to renewed effort, So the best thing you can do to conquer the enemy is meet it head-on. Stretch yourself a bit more. Push for still faster growth..”

So you want to make a change . . . let’s go!