Inspiring Women Magazine May 2023
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
feature<br />
Embracing Change<br />
Danielle Kuznetsov of the FAWCO<br />
Health Team on using stepping<br />
stones to help cope with change.<br />
We all know that there are not many<br />
guarantees in life. Many people<br />
joke that death and taxes are<br />
the absolutes we can count on. I<br />
would add CHANGE to that short list as well.<br />
Change is something that most people avoid like<br />
the plague. It is unpredictable, uncomfortable,<br />
and usually uninvited. Yet, making peace with<br />
it is vital to our health as individuals, couples,<br />
families, and communities, big and small.<br />
FAWCO is in the midst of exactly this kind of<br />
change; a circle of endings that are beginnings<br />
and beginnings that are endings. What happens<br />
on a small level in our private lives supersizes<br />
in organizations. Creating the space and<br />
opportunity for the people's real needs and the<br />
time to adjust is key in transitioning successfully<br />
from where you are to where you want to go.<br />
As expats we have unique experiences that help<br />
us thrive in change. Generally, planning<br />
strategically, maintaining adaptability and<br />
flexibility, and leading by example are the<br />
staples that keep us moving forward. What<br />
other criteria are needed to celebrate the good<br />
and build upon it so the return on investment<br />
(ROI) of change has lasting value?<br />
As a Life Coach and a woman who has<br />
experienced a huge life transition in the last<br />
few years (empty-nest and moving), I have been<br />
exploring this issue, with many ups and downs.<br />
Danielle Kuznetsov, Heidelberg IWC<br />
Retooling is not something that comes quickly,<br />
and there is no roadmap to follow. Each path<br />
for each person or organization is different.<br />
That being said, I have found common stepping<br />
stones to use as my guide. Here they are:<br />
1. Identify your values. A value is a<br />
principle that gives our life meaning and helps<br />
us to keep going when the going gets tough.<br />
Change, whether internal or external, requires<br />
that we reassess what is meaningful and<br />
necessary for us to move on in a stable and<br />
healthy fashion. A little bit of reflection can bring<br />
great clarity. The internet provides many free<br />
value inventories, making this reflection exercise<br />
fairly easy.<br />
36 INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 37