-Business Insider-
Whatever happens in your life, you can be sure of this: things are going to change.
As life goes on, you are faced with almost infinite changes. Some of them are small, such as a trying a new shampoo, and some are large, like getting a new job or moving house. Some changes are pleasant, but some are painful, like breaking up with a partner, or losing a relative.
Christopher Harvey, senior manager of change methodology within global projects & change at PwC and founder of the professional coaching service Harvey Sinclair, told Business Insider people are pretty badly equipped to deal with change.
"We all know change happens so often now, and frequently, but we don't differentiate it from anything else that happens in our lives," he said. "So on the whole it becomes like diluting something that tastes bad with a load of water so it doesn't taste bad anymore."
Essentially, humans suck at dealing with change, he said. Even if the change seems like a positive one, your reaction subconsciously plays on your mind.
"Things like when you get a promotion, or someone wins the lottery, we think that's the best thing that could happen to you ever, right?" Harvey said.
"Instantly you feel elated and positive, but... Your spectrum of your thought process has now been stretched beyond your experience previously — and therefore you're more volatile, and more likely to experience massive mood swings."
People don't tend to think about the impacts of change, because they think they're better at dealing with it than they actually are, Harvey said. And they're also not held to account over it. Read more