X steps forward, Y steps back

A pep talk for my fellow change agents

“Why does it always feel like I’m taking two steps forward and one step back?”

Because you are.

This is how change works:
1. Push forward
2. Receive pushback
3. Recover and reassess
4. Push again, in a slightly different way

There will never NOT be resistance to change. We are wired to resist it. The status quo always feels safer, even when it’s harmful and/or holding us back.

So the trick is to anticipate the pushback. Don’t take it personally and don’t let it derail you.

Then, take the time to recover (for the sake of your own resources) and to reassess your approach.

The next push will get you two steps forward (maybe even three) if you have the wherewithal to see the nature of the resistance, the origin of the pushback, and make your next push a more strategic one.

Pushing always in the same way against the same resistance will actually lose you ground.

Two steps forward and one step back, I can work with.