Many of you would know I worked at Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club for 15 years before resigning to spend more time in my professional organising business.

Making the decision to leave was a very difficult one for two main reasons. Firstly, I enjoyed being surrounded by great people (including amazing players Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk).

Secondly, I enjoyed hanging out with my friends and colleagues in the finance department (my role was accounts payable – processing the players’ medical accounts). As a bonus the role was flexible so I could work around my family commitments. So as you can imagine the decision to leave took me quite a few months to come to.

One person I spoke to whist making this decision was Andrew Pepar from The Reason and the Road. Andrew helps people get clear on their future career and life and helps them implement a plan to get them there.

I recently got back in touch with Andrew to ask him about the process we are faced with when wanting to a make a change in our lives. You too may be keen to look for a new job or even a new career or you want change your ways and get organised! But why is change so hard!?

Andrew explained to me that there are 3 stages of change (based on William Bridges, Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change). As we look at the 3 stages of change I’ll use an example of wanting to change your ways so you have a more organised kitchen.

Endings

This is where we sit every day in most things.  Andrew says that in this phase “It’s not that we don’t want change, it’s that we don’t want to let go of how things are. They need to have a reason to let go. Letting go is the hardest. Once they let go they are willing to gradually take that first step.” In the kitchen example, you know that you are going to have to let go of your habit of dropping everything on the kitchen counter when you get home. The thought of this change is daunting.

Neutral Zone

Andrew says this is the hardest phase “They know they can’t do what they use to do, but they haven’t quite got to the future yet”.  In the neutral zone you have made the commitment to being more organised in the kitchen, but it is all very unfamiliar to you. This phase is where you could benefit from support from family or friends – or from a professional organiser 😉

New Beginnings

Andrew said this is where “They start to attached themselves to their new future. They have a sense of how things could be, but they need to  continue to reinforce the new habits”. In the final example of wanting to change so you have an organised kitchen you may benefit from surrounding yourself with reminders on where you’re heading. This is where vision boards and other visual clues come into play.  Perhaps you can use my handy little sign “this is not a dumping area.” Download a copy here.

Have you also had difficulties making changes in your life? Perhaps now you know about the 3 above phases you can make plans so that the process isn’t so hard.

Need a hand changing careers? Contact Andrew Pepar at http://thereasonandtheroad.com/

Need a hand making a change at home and making a commitment to being more organised? Find my details here and reach out to me so we can discuss strategies to keep you on track.