Some of the resistance to change comes just from the dissonance of having something be different. Often, if we allow even a short amount of time, we’ll acclimate to the change as it was originally made and become comfortable without any further adjustments. It’s just that we pass judgment too quickly – and too many times others address our initial displeasure without giving the change time to settle in.
For example:
- People get a new watch and “don’t like it” – not because the watch itself is an issue, rather because it is a different weight than the previous one. Within days we wouldn’t notice it, but we don’t give it that long.
- Freshmen go off to college – and every year someone will call their parents to retrieve them before orientation ends. They have no idea what college is really like but are too fearful to find out.
- A new procedure is introduced and people spend more time lamenting about it instead of learning it, and the powers-that-be rescind the change rather than fight the backlash.
- As part of my redecorating spree, I purchased a throw pillow that I initially didn’t like, but came to embrace before I had a chance to return it – realizing that my main sticking point was that I had to get used to any pillow being there but that the colors really did work well with this one.
When your first reaction to a change is unfavorable, pause for a moment and consider what is generating your response. Before you back-pedal or return something, wait a few days and see if you don’t come to feel differently. It’s often love at fifth sight or twentieth, not first.
