Change is hard. Believe me, I know. I don’t like change. I like things the way I like things. And even though I know that some changes are good for me it sometimes takes me a while to warm up to the idea and make that commitment to the change.
So I really do understand my clients’ fear of change and their hesitation in getting started in any new project.
When a client initially contacts me they are usually at a point where they feel they need to make a change. They are tired of their disorganized home, office or life and want to be free of the clutter. They want a more organized life. They want to be able to have people come to their home without being embarrassed by the clutter. They want to be able to juggle their busy life without feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. They are ready for change.
Or so they think.
What happens most of the time after the initial phone conversation about the change that they are about to undertake is that they panic. Their mind starts going over all of the things that a change means and they get scared. Scared of change. And they step back and decide they are not ready to let someone else into their lives to help them make that change.
And that’s O.K. Really it is. A person has to be ready for change. And when they are ready they will let you know.
I get a lot of calls from family members saying that their mother or sister has severe chronic disorganization or hoarding problems and they want them to get help. And I when I tell them that the person must be ready for the change or it won’t work, they are not happy. But you can’t force change on a person. Any type of change. It won’t work.
The person might even initially agree to work with me and then back out at the last minute when they feel that their family member was forcing them to do something that they did not want to do.
You can’t force change on someone. You can plant the idea. You can be supportive. But you can’t make a person change.
A hard lesson to learn.
So when they are ready I will be too.
Organizational Consulting Services
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