Change.

Yep…. We all have a relationship with this six-letter word; change.

Some people are open and welcoming to change: the beauty of the oncoming season, the newness of something novel, the opportunity to ride life’s rollercoaster.

Some people are completely opposite. They resist change in every way, shape, and form. Sometimes kicking and screaming, you’ve seen it. People’s perspective of change can make it feel unjust, unnecessary, or irrelevant.

I’ve heard it said before, and I say it myself, “people like to be part of change, but they don’t like when change happens to them.” There is a lot of truth to this.

In this season of change, here’s what it looks like for the chamber.

A new year coming up with a very large community project coming in 2020. The Main Street 2020 project lends itself to new ideas and opportunities* to help our businesses, but also will affect other programs and events which have been part of the chamber for a very long time.

*I like to consider challenges as opportunities. Upgrade. Improve. Shift.

But then came along a new staffing structure for the chamber. I’ve had the honor to work with incredible humans over the years, but it is now time to shift to a new model of staffing the chamber. This came out of necessity, but also as a surprise of sorts to me. The opportunity has come about…to Upgrade, Improve, and Shift. If I am going to talk the talk, I sure as heck will walk the walk.

 

Rachel Hollis, author and media mogul, recently got a wrist tattoo… ‘embrace the suck’ to remind herself of the yet undefined opportunities and blessings that come along with the suckiest of situations in life. So, if you are one of the many people who do not like change, this may be helpful. Or, you like to also complain, so my idea is stupid, has no merit, and was a waste of time.

But yet, here’s my hope for YOU:

The next time you find yourself amid the opportunities/challenges/changes of life, embrace the suck, hold your head up and walk through it. Right straight through it.

May the events of this past decade help you float into a fabulous 2020.