My son shares this trait with me. The mere thought of doing something new, going somewhere new, or considering a change sends our stomachs churning. The initial thought is exciting, but from there its downhill and as the start date/time gets closer the churning grows exponentially.

Over the years, I’ve learned to expect this and to some extent appreciate it as it signals different things in me. My son is 5 and has not yet learned this. I spend time with him talking about the churning, the fear; not downplaying it or telling him to stop ‘feeling’ it because I know he can’t and actually want him to be aware of what his body is telling him. Yet, we talk about being brave and that even though we have fear, we don’t need to let this stop us from doing new things.

Acknowledging our emotions, our fears, is an important aspect of change as most people will experience them in a change process. Ignoring them, won’t help. Yet neither will letting our fears rule the day. In this way there are similarities between change and being a professional as Steven Pressfield writes about.