What’s Changing About Change?
Feeling unmoored? You might be sensing that even change itself is changing.
Orientation
In the last post, A Time of Transition, we explored what it means to live at a threshold ~ between worlds, between stories, between ways of being. We named the broader epochal shift taking place: not just in the world, but of the world…from one set of underlying conditions to another.
Here, we turn to one expression of those changing conditions: the very nature of change itself. How it’s shifting ~ in speed, scope, and intensity ~ and how that shift affects not only the world around us, but our bodies, relationships, and collective capacities.
The morphing nature of external change is one of the new conditions we’re navigating.
The Nature of Change is Changing
We’ve always lived with change. Seasons shift. Children grow. Societies evolve. Change, as we’ve known it, has long followed a recognizable rhythm ~ sometimes linear, sometimes cyclical, but largely understandable. Predictable, even.
But now, something’s… different.
Deep in our nervous systems, many of us feel it: the pace of life speeding up, the ground underfoot less stable, the future harder to anticipate.
It’s not just that more is changing.
It’s that the nature of change itself has shifted. Profoundly.
There are 2 key features about change today that are essential to understand: (1) type and (2) rate.
1. TYPE: Change is No Longer Predictable
If change used to move like a carousel ~ patterned, paced, expectable ~ it now bucks like a mechanical bull. Wild. Unsteady. Increasing in speed, variability, and force.
“Changes are different this time: they are discontinuous and not part of a pattern.” ~Charles Handy, The Age of Unreason
We’re not riding out waves of familiar transitions; we’re being whiplashed by disruption after disruption, many without historical precedent.
It’s easy to feel knocked off center by change that jolts us with increasing speed, force, and unpredictability.
2. RATE: A New Curve We’re Riding
The rate of change, once incremental, has now shifted to exponential.
Exponential change is not just faster than a linear rate of change… it’s fundamentally different. That’s part of what makes it so challenging to work with.
Exponential change can appear deceptive at first ~ progressing slowly, almost imperceptibly. But once it hits a tipping point, it becomes explosive, overwhelming our capacity to adapt in linear ways.
In the early stages, the exponential pattern is deceptive, appearing relatively flat. However, with each doubling ~ of data, climate disruption, AI capacity, social unrest ~ the curve steepens. And the time ~ between what was and what is to be ~ shortens.
And with it, the space to adapt, further disappears. This is also what makes exponential change tricky to deal with.
“Change has always been accelerating...but until recently [it] has been slow enough to enable people to adapt.” ~Ackoff, Ackoff’s Best
[For those who want to dive deeper in understanding the compression of time and tremendous acceleration of change, you might enjoy this 3 minute video illuminating the thinking of Dee Hock (founder of Visa) who draws from the insights of futurist James Burke.]
Why The Change in Change Matters
As the pace and nature of change intensify ~ without time to adapt ~ our systems (biological, psychological, organizational, societal) are being overwhelmed. That’s problematic. But it becomes increasingly so when we don’t name this dramatic shift in context. Because without a broader framework to understand why things are breaking down, people understandably struggle to make sense of their experience.
Disoriented, we tend to default to survival strategies: Fight, flight, freeze and fawn. Cling to what we know. Double down on old methods, even when they no longer work. Blame ourselves: Why can’t I keep up? What’s wrong with me? Or blame others. They’re so ___! If only they’d ___.
So its essential to remember: This isn’t a failure of character. It’s a failure of tracking context. And naming the dramatic shift in context is a step toward reclaiming our agency ~ individually and collectively. Because this moment calls for a different approach.
It asks us to build our capacity ~ to metabolize more complexity, to widen our windows of tolerance, to grow into more coherent and adaptive forms. To shift from feeling like powerless victims to powerful creators of our experience…as well as our future.
And this requires more than grit. It calls for new rhythms, relational coherence, and frameworks that honor context.
Summarizing the Shift
Key elements of what’s changing about change include:
Change is no longer primarily linear or cyclical ~ it is now exponential and disruptive.
It’s not just a change of scenery; it’s a change of terrain.
It’s not just more change ~ it’s a new kind of change.
Which means the ways we relate to it, plan for it, and lead through it must evolve, too.
A Glimpse Ahead
This blog is part of a larger arc. In A Time of Transition, we explored what it means to stand at a threshold between worlds, mapping the broader shape of transition. Here, we explored one of the new conditions of the world we're entering: the very nature of the change around us is changing.
In the next post, we’ll explore The Rift ~ the growing mismatch between the pace of external change and our inner readiness to meet it. We’ll explore how this widening gap disorients us ~ and how, paradoxically, it may also open a doorway to more coherent ways of being.
But for now, breathe. Notice where this lands — in your body, your mind, your life.
Where do you notice this kind of change showing up in your life?
What happens in your body when you realize the old maps may no longer apply?
May these ideas stir curiosity. May they help you make space for compassion. And may they help you remember: When your body feels the strain, there’s nothing wrong with you. And you are not alone. We’re in new territory. And together, we can learn how to move through it ~ wisely, bravely, and with integrity.
Wish your team or community could explore these ideas more deeply together?
I offer talks, interactive sessions, and tailored workshops to support groups in navigating these shifts with more clarity and care. Reach out here if you'd like to explore what's possible.