How can we find resilience amid change? We all know that one of the constant things in this world is change, yet most people are not used to it. Resilience brought about peace. But how can you find peace when you do not know what is normal anymore? In this episode of Your SuperPowered Mind, host Kristin Maxwell together with Dr. Sarah Stebbins will help you find your way to develop resilience. Dr. Stebbins has spent 25 years studying the process of change. She is also an organizational change management consultant of various companies. She recently released a book, From Fire to Water: Moving Through Change – Six Elements for Personal Resiliency. Join Kristin and Dr. Sarah as they talk about several powerful questions to guide you out from resistance to resilience.
Hello, everyone. Welcome to Your SuperPowered Mind. I’m Kristin Maxwell, and in this show, we explore the process of transformation and give you tools and strategies that you can use to change and transform your own life.
Today, I am excited to be talking to Dr. Sarah Stebbins about finding resilience in the midst of change. And can you imagine why I would want to talk to her right now, about change? Dr. Stebbins has spent roughly 25 years studying change and acting as an organizational change management consultant, whose clients include Fortune 500 companies, the federal government, colleges and universities, and companies in the nonprofit sector. She recently released a book, From Fire to Water: Moving Through Change – Six Elements for Personal Resiliency.
And although Dr. Stebbins is primarily an organizational change person, I was really excited to talk to her, because part of an organizational change comes down to the individual level. And I am really curious about what we, as individuals, can do to adapt to all of the change that is just happening in our world right now. Dr. Stebbins, welcome to Your SuperPowered Mind.
Thank you, Kristin, so much. It’s a pleasure to be here. I’m really looking forward to our conversation.
Me, too. I am curious. What superpower did you uncover as a result of mastering your mind?
Well, it’s a great question, and I have to laugh at the last phrase, mastering your mind. It is a journey, rather than a destination, as I have discovered from my own experience. Mind mastery is something that I strive for, and the people that I work with strive for. But I think that to answer your question, it’s managing the mind-heart relationship.
Our mind is a phenomenal place; it really is. We have the logical side, and we have the emotional side, and I think that for me. I can manage the intelligence side, the logical side, pretty well, but the emotional side takes a little bit more work, as it does for most people. And so it is that mind-heart relationship, where I have placed my personal work over the years, and certainly, it is what comes up in my conversations with my coaching clients. That’s the big one.
Yes, and in the context of change, what are the kinds of emotions that people face? Whether it’s even a good change or a bad change, or where we’ve been obviously dealing with the pandemic and so many changes, what kind of emotions are typical for people to go through?
Well, I think I’m going to use the pandemic as an example. Shock, initially. “Holy cow, what’s going on?” Because the shutdown with the pandemic literally happened overnight, and certainly, I was in a state of shock. But I also think that when we move out of that initial, “Holy cow, what’s going on?” we can get in resistance. We can be in denial. We can experience frustration and anger.
And actually, if you take a look at what has been going on in this country for a year, we have seen all of those expressed, all of those feelings expressed. And I certainly have experienced those feelings with my coaching clients. There are a whole plethora of feelings, and we have witnessed them, and I have certainly seen them.
Yes, and we’re all still witnessing them, because I think this has been just one of the things I’m noticing right now is it feels like there’s not much we can necessarily count on, externally, around what is happening with the pandemic. “Yay, we have a vaccine! Oh, wait; maybe it won’t work.” Do you know? “Yes, it will. Wait. No, there’s a variant. Yes, things are opening. Oh, wait, no, they’re not.”
Well, but what you’re touching on, Kristin, is a really important point, and that is, we don’t know what normal is anymore, and we aren’t going to know. And so the more we look outside of ourselves for what is normal, the more the frustration for ourselves is going to continue.
The only thing we have control over is ourselves. The only thing. And it’s how we react to change, how we are with ourselves. That’s what we have control over, and I think that people who are afraid of stepping back and doing some deep self-reflection about what is going on with them, in relation to the change, are the folks that are going to continue to struggle with change, period. Pandemic or whatever comes down the road.
You just said so much that I’m super excited to have you unpack for people. But we do need to take a break. And can you let people know: Where can they find you and your work and your new book?
Absolutely. Well, the book is available on Amazon, and if you go to my website, thebetterchange.com, you’ll learn more about me, the work that I do. And also, take a look at my blog. I try to keep my blog current. I discuss these kinds of topics in my blog, and that’s the best way to get in touch with me.
Great, thanks. And we are going to be back in just a moment to talk more to Dr. Stebbins about finding resilience in the midst of change. So hang on.
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