The first hints of Fall are creeping in. The mornings are crisp, and leaves are starting to turn. More than any year that I remember, I’m in a state of change myself as this season of change comes upon us.

Most people resist change. We humans are creatures of habit, and even when we know we need to change in order to grow or be successful, we fight to hold on to our old ways of being. I am no different.

One of the biggest things I have been changing is how I am as a team member. I have been doing a lot of work on being fun to work with – choosing, even when things are not going the way I want them to go, to be delightful instead of resentful and unpleasant. Making this change has entailed taking in some painful feedback, and getting on a core level that this feedback is for me, delivered with good will, and meant to make my life better.

The Implications of Change

This growth edge is extremely important for me as a business owner and as a speaker. My newfound attitude has helped me create a better customer experience for an important corporate client, maintaining their confidence even when we had some breakdowns. Any unwillingness to change on my part could have meant the end of that relationship.

I am also seeing results in my speaking career. I’ve known for a long time that I have been weak in obtaining clients through speaking; people get a lot of information from me and then take it and go home, most often never contacting me again. I have not liked this. I have wanted it to change! But I kept doing things the same way I had been doing them, which all of us know is NOT a recipe for different results.

Biting the Bullet

Two months ago, I finally decided to hire a speaking coach, Denise Hedges, in hopes that I could turn things around. With a major presentation coming up September 20, this seemed like the right time to get serious.

Now 4 sessions into a private coaching with Denise, I am finding out why I took so long to tackle this issue! This might surprise you, but Denise did not just tweak a few things here and there. She had me write a brand new introduction, delete half my slides, and craft a completely different offer, along with a new, unfamiliar script. And now I am having to practice all these things by myself, trying to remember the new phrases and organization.

I’m feeling scared and very uncomfortable. I have been procrastinating. I do not like this! I don’t wanna!! And yet, I have done what she asked me to do, without (too much) complaint.

Reaping Rewards

When I practiced my new script with a friend, he said it was way better than anything he has heard from me before and that it addressed an issue he had noticed but hadn’t ever quite identified. He heard my offer as my truly wanting to be there with him, understand him, and help him, and he found me very relatable in my delivery.

I’m expecting this presentation to be my best ever, and to create excitement in my audience about working with me that I have never created before. And I still want to cry every time I think about delivering my talk in a new way, or about practicing it – again.

Here’s the thing. Growth is painful. It’s usually not fun, or at least it’s not fun until you get the results of your new way of being. Then it all becomes worth it.

Your Turn

The question to ask yourself is not whether you are resisting change, but how and where you are resisting it. I invite you to choose one area, as the leaves turn gold and purple, in which you will take a risk and weather the pain to get a new result in your life.