Change in the Fast Lane

Perpetual change.

Successful companies and their leaders learn to thrive on it.

A recent blog from Mozilla (the Firefox browser folks) proudly talks about how they are gearing up for the next chapter and pivoting to mobile. This past week Tech Crunch reported: Firefox OS developer phones sold out after first few hours on sale. In their ever-changing tech world, words and phrases like “pivot” “accelerate” “delivering at the speed of the market” are common in their lexicon.

Too Fast for Lunch.

To quote our CEO, Bob Rosen, from his upcoming book, Grounded, “…the pace of change has so accelerated that people can’t keep up. The world is changing faster than our ability to evolve.”

So how can we change and grow as healthy leaders when making time for a quiet lunch is almost a daily impossibility?

Anxiety Is Your Best Friend.

Any change brings uncertainty, anxiety and anticipation. Worry about what’s going to happen next generates all kinds of emotions. What’s the best strategy to handle anxiety, emotional roller coasters, fear? Begin with inside yourself. Focus on your emotional health.

Being anxious is your body and brain telling you “things have changed,” moving you out of your comfort zone. You feel out of control. However, it is this state of discomfort that can drive you to change your perspective, to think differently.

Anxiety can be your tool for change. As adults, it is the moment you are most open to learning. If you consciously recognize your anxiety for what it is, and don’t let it pull you to a negative response, it can be the springboard to being a healthier, more conscious person.

Change in the Fast Lane.

Uncertainty can cause you to do stupid things or it can cause you to stretch and explore new things and behaviors, to think analytically about your behavior.

When you are feeling anxious and make the decision to improve your emotional health as a leader, here’s what you’ll experience:

• deeper self-awareness
• honest understanding of your strengths and shortcomings
• increased ability to tap into positive feelings and jettison the negative ones
• insight into when to engage just enough anxiety to challenge yourself without overly stressing you
• ability to bounce back from adversity faster

How is your Emotional Health? Find out by taking the Healthy Leader Assessment.

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