Change is Hard

BY ALYSSA “TWIST” LIGHT

If you struggle to keep up with what the kids are doing these days, this article is for you. If you’re flummoxed by stories of young people making millions of dollars online by doing things that seem impossible, this article is for you. And, if you’re tired of hearing things like “Stop being a stick in the mud and start using social media!”, then this article is for you.

Change is hard.

It’s harder when we feel defensive, or when the people around us think we’re being defensive. Our outward expressions of defensiveness often occur to others as stubbornness or “old school thinking” because we are reluctant to change. Afterall, change can be exhausting — especially constant change, like that in the world of business.

Gutenberg — a tradesman who worked as a goldsmith in the 1400’s — invented the printing press during a time when books were copied by hand; ink and quill scratching each and every word onto parchment, page after page after page.

One might then assume that the printing press was a great invention that improved humanity in incredibly profound ways. And, it did — but it took a long time for literacy to become widespread and therefore the demand for books was slow.

It took twelve years for the press to put out its first book — a bible.

There was reluctance to learn to read and write. Not everyone thought it was possible or necessary to educate the masses. And yet, it happened.

As a child, I remember visiting the Royal Ontario Museum and learning that a certain library, in the same time period as Gutenberg, boasted about having eight books. Eight.

Electricity, radios, television, computers and smartphones were all new at one time — just like the Gutenberg Press was. And just like the invention that changed literacy forever, the internet is here to stay.

During that time in my life, my father worked in film and television as an editor. We often sat at the dinner table talking about big thinkers. On a particular night, Dad told us about how someone was inventing a way for computers to talk to all the other computers in the whole world.

“Just as people living 600 years ago rejected the “modern technology” of Gutenberg’s printing press, you may not want to embrace the internet. Both caused change.”

As someone on the cutting edge of technology, this concept was mind boggling to him: In a time of printer paper with tear-away “holey” leads running up and down each side, and computer towers that weighed more than his children, my dad could not understand how that much information would be stored on every single computer — of course, it wouldn’t be: access would be made through wires, with the information stored on giant units, hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

Sitting at that dinner table, dreaming of computers that could communicate, was like living in a fantasy land.

Not a few years later, the information highway arrived and despite the reluctance of many people, this thing — this invisible connection to every person and every piece of information in the world — continues to baffle, amaze, delight, entertain, horrify, and educate us.

The internet and the dawn of social media have forever changed the way we do business and go about life.

Just as people living 600 years ago rejected the “modern technology” of Gutenberg’s printing press, you may not want to embrace the internet. Both caused change.

And, change is hard.

But it is not going away — it never has, and it never will.

The thing that makes change hard is the inability to get used to something, to get comfortable with it before it changes again. Our reluctance to yet another new thing is often misinterpreted as defensiveness — when really it’s about our desire to protect something or someone.

Think about it: People tell us “Go with the flow!” or “Adapt or get out of the way!”, when really what we want to do is keep doing business the way we always have — by doing good work, building relationships, and being referred to new customers.

Underneath our perceived opposition to change is often one of these things:

• We are afraid something will be lost — a tradition, memory, or way of doing something • We feel like we are being made wrong — because the

“new” way is somehow superior • We are being told what to do — but why fix what isn’t broken, right? • We are tired of change — as soon as you learn something and get used to it there’s an update that requires more learning • You post a photo of a child standing beside a big construction truck looking amazed; a big smile sweeping across their face. • The first comment you get is: This little boy is dreaming of his future. • Your response is not: Thanks for commenting, Margie. • Your response is: And what a big future it is! Thank you for your story idea.

The more you respond to comments, the more the algorithm (the elusive Artificial Intelligence everyone is trying to figure out) will show your content to more people.

Change can be hard.

Make it easier by connecting with people in meaningful ways online — because when you do, your “old ways” and “the new ways” work beautifully together.

Alyssa, is a speaker at GISC 2021 Virtual, please check out their session live or on-demand with an event registration.

I can.

And, despite being what I referred to as “tech exhausted”, I have figured out how to use social media to grow a profitable business without paying for advertising.

I want to help you start using social media in a way that gives you a little traction — would that be helpful? We are going to start right now!

Whatever platform you use — facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or something else — find a photo that relates to landscaping. For example, a person watering a flower, kids walking on a beautiful retaining wall, or a backyard water feature.

Put this caption on the photo: If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s the first sentence of this story? Please share your ideas below.

Respond to each comment as promptly as you can, and always with a thoughtful remark. For example: