Transformation Resistance and the Reality of Impermanence
Transformation Resistance and the Reality of Impermanence
Resistance Meets Reality
Transformation projects often stumble over one common obstacle: resistance. Employees resist new processes, new roles, or even new values, clinging tightly to the familiar. Yet the truth—acknowledged by both ancient wisdom and modern science—is that nothing stays the same. The Buddha’s insight into impermanence and the second law of thermodynamics remind us that change is not optional; it is the fundamental nature of existence. Understanding this can help individuals and organisations overcome resistance and embrace transformation.
Impermanence Is Inevitable
Impermanence—the truth that everything is in a constant state of flux—is central to the Buddha’s teachings. It is also echoed in the second law of thermodynamics, which states that systems naturally move toward disorder and decay unless energy is applied to maintain or transform them. Resistance to transformation is essentially a denial of this reality, an attempt to hold onto what feels stable and predictable.
Understanding this reality on its own does not make change easier, but it does give us direction on how to navigate it.
Why Resistance Happens
There are a number of reasons why people resist change. These include:
Fear of Loss: Employees associate transformation with losing something familiar—a process, a role, or even a sense of identity.
Attachment to Stability: The illusion of permanence provides comfort. Letting go of this illusion creates discomfort.
Reactive Sensations: The body reacts to the uncertainty of transformation with sensations of fear, tension, or insecurity, driving resistance.
At the base of these and other reasons are sensations within our bodies. When we look at impending change we experience either desirable or undesirable sensations about it.
The Role of Mindset Mastery in Navigating Impermanence
The Mindset Mastery methodology equips individuals with tools to embrace impermanence - and change - by addressing how their brain-body instrument generates sensations to what is going on around them. By understanding the stages of the Sensory-Body Feedback Loop people can understand why they are resisting change, and how to let go of that resistance. The stages of the SFBL are:
Cognise: Sensory input of change in the environment.
Recognise: Our brain interpreting the input against what we have experienced in the past.
Assess: The brain assesses the sensory input as either desirable, undesirable, or of no consequence.
Sensation: A ‘message’ in the form of a sensation is sent from the brain to the body so the body ‘knows what is happening’.
Reaction: How we react to that sensation.
By mastering this framework, individuals learn to not react to the sensations the change in the environment triggers and can be less resistant to the inevitable change that living with impermanence brings.
Driving deeper transformation
Transformation is not about resisting change; it’s about recognising the impermanence of what came before and shaping what comes next. The Mindset Mastery methodology equips your team to embrace this reality, navigating resistance with clarity and confidence. Let’s explore how I can help your organisation move through the next inevitable phase of change to achieve meaningful, lasting transformation.
