Training different insurance agencies and different people is always a new adventure. I have learned a few things over the years. First human beings are creatures of habit. We spend our whole lives creating routines and schedules. Why do we do this? Because it makes our lives easier (or so we think). When we have routines we can shift in to Auto-Pilot and we don’t have to think about any of the processes or steps. However we often fall in to routines and habits that aren’t always the best, the most efficient, or the most up to date. We can also become stuck in our ideas and philosophies, in essence keeping us from growing and learning. That is where “Change” becomes so important, whether it’s in our personal lives or in our business. I think it’s critical to understand what each of us goes through when we experience “Change”. This cycle chart represents each phase.
Source: Theory: Stages of Change (Prochaska & DiClementi)
We deny the problem, we refuse the solution, but eventually with enough guidance, we begin preparation for the change, take action to change our routines, and sustain them. Will there be relapses to go back in to old behaviors, of course there will. I know we have all heard or said this one before ” I can do it better my way”. And in the beginning that may be true. But as the old Chinese proverb used to say “without change there can be no progress”.
Understanding that any change can be difficult is the first step to accepting it. Then the real work begins. You will have to develop new habits and learn new procedures. But when you first began your existing methods it wasn’t easy either, but day by day you became better and better. Nothing good was ever easy….right? Through change we learn new things, we expand our horizons and in effect become better at what we do.
Without someone thinking outside their box and embracing change we would have never flown to the moon, we would not have computers, we wouldn’t have the telescope or a cure for polio. So the next time you are presented with a new idea or program, try to look at it with fresh eyes. You and your business will be better for it.