Fear of Change: Fear of Loss

In the midst of so much change, and the possibility of change, and the certainty of change, this post from Keegan Lenker on Fuller Youth Institute website was timely. There is a tid bit at the end of the post that I find particularly enlightening. "People aren't afraid of change, they are afraid of loss." What a profound insight. This changes everything when framing change to those who must walk through it. What if, in the face of change, we ask a series of questions. 

What are we actually loosing in this process?

What might we lose in this process?

What is the hardest thing to let go of? Do you have to let go of it?

What pieces of the past can we take with us?

What is there to be gained?

Where are we going and is it somewhere I want to go?

Who is affected by this shift? How are they affected? How am I affected? 

If we ask these questions, what sort of conversations might we have? Are they potentially more productive? At the very least, it is helpful to remember that resistance to change is sometimes about loss.