“What we need is not the will to believe but the will to find out.” ~ Bertrand Russell
A company I know recently went through a very large reorganization due to significant changes in leadership. My friends there who kept their roles are being asked to trust the vision and strategy of the new leadership team on blind faith. They are being asked to believe in something that has not yet been proven, that doesn’t even have any results on which to base their belief. In the face of such significant change, this is a tall order.
The company recently surveyed the current employees to ask how they feel about the new strategy. Many felt positive about the changes, though they had a lot of doubt about the ability of the new leadership team to make good on their promises. I smiled when my friends told me that. It is exactly the right answer. We may not be able to control all of our circumstances, at work or in life, but we always have the right to our curiosity. We always have the right, and I would go so far as to say the obligation, to say, “Let’s see how it all unfolds.”
Any time we are going through change, we experience a bit of seizing up. That seizing up can be physical, emotional, or mental. It is just resistance, and we can breathe through it. It’s a very natural part of change. It’s from fear of the unknown. It’s meant as a protective device, though too often it becomes a weight around our necks that keeps us from moving in the direction we’re meant to go.
Our curiosity is a potent tool to use during these moments of seizing up, second only to our breath. When that resistance to change finds us, as it always does, we take a big inhale, then exhale, and then give ourselves the permission to be curious about the outcome. Have the will not to believe that this is the right thing to happen but the will to find out if it’s the right thing to happen to us right now.
Let the questions rise up. Why? How? When? Where? With whom? Dig in to the answers and don’t let anyone tell you that you must follow along simply because they said so. Question until you get answers you can believe in. And if your questions aren’t met satisfactorily, you have the right to walk out and carve your own path. Only you own your time and only you get to decide how it’s best spent. Seek, and eventually, you will find.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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“What we need is not the will to believe but the will to find out.” ~ Bertrand Russell
Christa Avampato 