How Change Causes Change,
self help article
by Joan Marques

Self Help, life purpose, change management, happiness, personal development, sense of purpose, article:

It is only when you return to your initial environment after having been away for a while, that you realize how the process of change can change a person's complete perspective on almost everything.

This is not only the case with (temporarily) returning to a home country after relocating to another, but it may just as well pertain to companies, or even families! It takes all your personal leadership abilities to successfully re-identify with the "culture" that used to be yours, maybe not even that long ago.

And in fact the confusion that oftentimes manifests itself is not even illogic, for doesn't this process resemble the phenomenon of ethnocentrism being cured by exposure to a different culture?

To refresh the reader's memory: ethnocentrism could be defined as "thinking [that] one's own group's ways are superior to others" or "judging other groups as inferior to one's own. "

Being re-exposed to your initial culture, then, leads to a factual culture shock that may drop on your head even twice as tough, because you start seeing the shortcomings of what used to be immaculate and maybe even superior in the perception you so carefully cherished during your absence. As a matter of fact, maybe the best way to typify the confusing turmoil in which you land is "reversed ethnocentrism".

Getting yourself in shape to manage this emotional crisis responsibly requires -- before anything else -- the ability to recognize it! The general perception of various authors, who state that everybody, without exception, is ethnocentric, can easily lead to the conclusion that almost certainly everybody also experiences reversed ethnocentrism when returning to the initial environment after exposure to a different one.

The feelings of disappointment that we endure during these moments can be devastating. Now, even if radicalism may serve excellent as a leadership tool to keep your company from endlessly, incrementally innovating, it also has some negative connotations to it. In the case of reversed ethnocentrism, for instance, a radical approach can lead to decisions such as cutting off all ties that used to exist with the initial culture. The nationalist who lived in another country can, hence, decide to abandon his/her home country ineradicably, the staff member who was once so full.

Judy Neal offers a possible approach that may be helpful in situations of confusion -- because that's what it boils down to -- namely, asking ourselves under all circumstances:

1. Who am I?
2. What is my purpose in life?

Although Neal applies these questions mainly to the concept of spirituality in the workplace, their scope and importance could very well be extended to all aspects of life. We just have to understand that we are subject to change as long as we are conscious. The changes we experience from day to day may seem rather small at times, and grappling at others (think about the effects of terrorist actions), but change is always there. It never leaves.

As numerous authors may have stated before this article, change within the society where you live and/or work may not be as obvious while you’re part of it, but when you have detached yourself from it for an extended period of time, that's when the eye-opening process kicks in.

The answer we give to the two abovementioned questions that Neal has posted in her "Reflections on the coming of the New Year" may very well change drastically over the years, but they will definitely force us to regularly get in touch with our inner selves. They will help us keep track of the changes we go through and the changed individual we become through those changes. They will also help us to accept new or old situations we get (re)confronted with and which we may not like, due to the changes we have gone through.

Not all change happens as rapidly everywhere. Some environments just move at a faster pace than others. It is unfair toward our initial culture to be compared with the newly experienced one, even though it may very well be helpful if we are in the position to gradually introduce some new impulses here and there. Bottom line is that the statement, "we change through the books we read and the people we meet", is as true as can be.

So where is this all supposed to lead to? Simple, to the awareness that has been described time and again by people from all walks of life: we change constantly, and change changes us. We move away from people and things that were once our most beloved. We grow, and so do they. And unfortunately, we don't always grow in the same direction. Sometimes we will make friends, or create situations and links for life, but sometimes they will only serve a temporary purpose.

It is impossible to try to hang on to everyone and everything that once touched us, for there is only so much time to do whatever we have to do. Dreaming is not childish. On the contrary! It takes a hero to dare to dream in a world that almost forces you to walk in line with millions of others. And yes, it will drive you in other directions. Yes, you will loose track of good old friends and places. But don't let that keep you from the adventure of your life. As long as you do it in a responsible way: Dream! Gamble!

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Paramaribo, December 28, 2001, Joan Marques, MBA, Doctoral Student http://www.angelfire.com/id/joanmarques/PR

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