The Change Cycle Overview

Looking for answers to our many questions about the human experience of change, we found plenty of data from fields such as psychology, neurology, physiology, even physics. Much of it was fascinating, but the technical language made it less than fully useful for the average change sufferer. So, we condensed our findings into the more easily understood and practical Change Cycle™ model.

When you look at the model below, it's a circle, and it represents the true cyclical nature of each change we experience. In the outside ring are the six sequential and predictable stages of change. The names of the stages: Loss, Doubt, Discomfort, Discovery, Understanding and Integration, indicate the primary experience of that stage. The inside pie pieces list the thoughts, feelings and behaviors most associated with the stage.

The Change Cycle™ uses the colors of a traffic light to signal that the stages mirror the actions we take at traffic lights. The Change Cycle™model is a map that depicts our human experience of each stage of change - in all changes, big or small, good or bad.

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Change comes in all shapes, sizes, and intensities. It happens to all of us. Sometimes it sneaks up on us, sometimes it hits us over the head, sometimes we are lucky enough to choose when and how it happens. But it always happens. By integrating basic, positive attitudes and beliefs about change and combining them with the right skills (or tools), any of us can learn to adapt and grow in changing environments and situations. Is it easy? Not usually. Like any new activity or function, it takes a while to get used to it, but over time, we learn and integrate, and then do it without thinking. By understanding The Change Cycle™, you can learn to better manage your life by managing the changes.