My wife and I are in the process of “cutting the cord.” Based on statistics, we may be one of the last holdouts on “linear” (broadcast, cable) TV and embracing streaming. Part of the timing is that both of our adult children have switched and they (and our granddaughters) can see everything they want. Another piece of the puzzle is that the price of cable TV kept increasing to car payment levels. Yet another piece of the puzzle is many events (e.g. NFL playoff game only available on streaming) and content have made that transition. The final piece of the puzzle was service offerings that made it easier to bundle (early cord cutters had multiple accounts and even remote controls to navigate).
We were comfortable with cable TV … until we weren’t and saw examples of success from someone we trusted.
In the same vein, I enjoy the Pat McAfee Show. I’m old so I probably shouldn’t admit that I like something irreverent, often unstructured, and willing to tackle interesting subjects in a different format. They advertise it as a conversation like what happens in real life – talking over each other, coarse language, stream of consciousness rather than segmented topics, poking fun at each other, different viewpoints that organically disagree, guests that throw them a curveball. The show obviously targets younger generations. I love sports but the standard talking heads who have always done it like it’s been done was getting tiresome. I was comfortable until I was offered a desirable alternative.
Change is hard … and inevitable. It often happens on its own terms and timing. In some cases, change is involuntary. Other times, we control if / when / how adoption takes place.
For the involuntary changes, resilience (or psychological flexibility) is required. That’s what happened when I got laid off (for the first time ever) in July 2021 at age 60.
For voluntary changes, the cost of status quo must exceed the cost of change before we’re willing to go from comfortable to uncomfortable. From what we’ve known to the unknown. From cruise control to manual transmission. From what we’ve experienced to what we anticipate.
While embracing change can be an emotional decision, usually it is calculated and strategic. We had a blank piece of paper when we hatched the idea of WorkCompCollege.com, and it has been extremely fun to fill it up.
We are already into the second month of 2024 and I can almost guarantee that at least one thing you planned to accomplish has changed. Maybe it just moved down on the priority list, or maybe it was removed entirely because circumstances made it irrelevant. Ready or not, change happened. You’ve adjusted and moved on.
Here’s some homework:
- What needs to change in your personal life that you’ve been putting off because of the uncertainty of what lies ahead?
- What needs to change with your job, in your department, at your employer that would create different impact and outcomes?
- What needs to change in your community that, until somebody decides to make it happen, won’t proceed?
Are you ready for new things? Ready or not, here they come!
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