I wanted to continue to learn about change management as it’s always a hot topic and also inevitable for all of us. This book helps open up perspectives when dealing with change and learning new concepts on how to deal with it. The main theme the author shares is how to have a rugged and flexible mindset. The lessons help people train their mind to see change differently and prepare themselves for it so it becomes a norm. One of the concepts that I share a lot is, “Expect & Accept” which helps people stay calm and even keel during various situations. The concept is that if you expect things for whatever the situation in advance, then when it happens, you accept it and it does not impact you and your task at hand. This book basically helped validate that concept for me. One of the stories also that I enjoyed was about Terry Crews who went from a football career to acting career and how the NFL prepared him for rejection and hard work. I would recommend this book for someone that does deal with change frequently and needs some help maneuvering through that. As well as anyone that wants to help the emotional rollercoaster of life, work, the world, etc.

Here are some of my nuggets:

• People go through an average of 36 major life disruptions which is 1 every 18 months
• Everything is changing including us – life is flux
• Dealing with change makes kinder and wiser people.
• Change itself is neutral and it’s positive or negative based on how we see it and more importantly what we do with it.
• Permanence is an illusion.
• Flow of change – order, disorder, reorder
• Decision making is emotion and reason
• If we let go of our stubbornness, change actually promotes health and longevity
• Without change, our lives would be tedious and boring
• Tragic optimism helps set proper expectations
• Expect change to be hard
• Expectations shape our experiences; happiness is reality minus expectations
• Persistence favors complexity hence evolution
• We adopt our perspective over time
• Core values of a person helps deal with change as they happen
• Responding with four P’s: pause, process, plan, and proceed. Action creates motivation.
• Asking for and receiving help during change is okay and acceptable
• Voluntary simplicity through routines and rituals
• Rugged is to be tough, determined, and durable while flexible is to adapt, repsond, and to bend without breaking