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Nils van der Poel was a speedskater who always underachieved when it mattered most. He had a very strong training regime. But he was underperforming at championships. So he decided to do something radical. He introduced disorder into his training. As part of this new reality, every weekend, he didn’t train. He met friends. Had a drink. Relaxed. The opposite of how he normally prepared for a championship. This change took the fear of failure away. He had changed (re-ordered) his psychological resilience and didn’t go back to his old training regime.
He shattered the world record.
Change is constant
36. That’s the average number of major life changes we go through as individuals. Major changes are frequent. Obvious examples include: getting married, going to university, dropping out, having a child, losing a job, getting a dog, losing loved ones and so it goes.
Change visits us regularly. It’s not special. It may feel like that in the moment, but if you zoom out, it’s an ordinary change event and we are designed to cope with these changes.
But how we respond is the key.
A sense of control
The traditional approach is staying true to yourself, having a fixed identity. This is something we hold on to throughout our lives. It gives us a sense of control. When we meet changes this way, this is what happens:
Order > Change event > Disorder > Order.
This is you bouncing back. It’s called Homeostatic change (Latin meaning: staying the same).
A new reality
However… what if this is wrong? What if the best way to deal with change is completely different? Research has shown the homeostatic approach is not a great fit for life. The changes have happened, but you’ve gone back to the old you. Your expectation versus reality has not adapted. You’re back to square one.
What if we did this:
Order > Change event > Disorder > Reorder.
This is called Allostasis (Latin meaning: stability through change). Nils van der Poel changed his life this way and realised the potential that looked elusive, despite his very obvious talent.
What Allostasis allows is to accept that changes are ongoing, and the goal is to get to stability but somewhere new.
The other system that employs this change management theory? Evolution.
Which works pretty well.
Rugged flexibility
It’s time to reframe change. Changes are good. In that disorder stage, you find new routines, skills, experiences and this makes you stronger. It gives you resilience. The key is to not go back to your old self, it’s to take what you learned and grow. It’s called Rugged Flexibility.
Seek out change
Seeking out change is a quality we all have. It happens to us 36 times during our lives, so managing change and not have it happen to us is vital. It’s a fundamental part of how we grow personally and professionally. It’s how we make new good habits to get through difficult times. Let’s transform our thinking, like Nils did. Then, who knows what astonishing achievements lie ahead?
