Several years ago a popular, easy to read, book “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spenser Johnson used the humorous analogy of cheese to discuss, the way in which most people deal with change. It seems these days things are constantly changing. If you are in business for yourself, this means staying ahead of the cheese by having a consistent, systematic marketing strategy. If you have a job, constant change means that your job may be gone in a heartbeat. In a job situation, it is simple wallet wisdom to stay ahead of the cheese by becoming seeking out new opportunities and being intra-preneurial in your current job.

What is not often acknowledged is the personal vulnerability that occurs when cheese is moved to a bigger and better and more prosperous place. Success tract automatically triggers vulnerability. It is a very natural part of growing your business, your life and your wallet. Edna LaShan* reflections on how a lobster goes through the process of change makes a good analogy

How does a lobster grow bigger when its shell is so hard? The only way is for a lobster to shed its shell at regular intervals.  When its body begins to feel cramped inside the shell, the lobster instinctively looks for a reasonably safe spot to rest while the hard shell comes off and the pink membrane just inside forms the basis of the new bigger shell. But no matter where a lobster goes for this shedding process, it is very vulnerable. It can get tossed against a coral reef or eaten by a fish.  In other words, a lobster has to risk its life in order to grow.

As you grow your business, you are like the lobster shedding your old self- limiting beliefs, confining attitudes in order to grow into more expansive person. Unlike the lobster, the fast pace of life doesn’t always allow for finding a safe protected place to, rest and regroup. Most people consider being vulnerable a bad thing, a sign of weakness, rather than part of the process.

Make sure to honor and respect yourself in the process of growing yourself and growing your business. Here are easy tips for managing your vulnerability while making positive lasting changes

Integrate the changes by slowing down and taking time out to decompress. Everyone needs downtime. Make sure to include yours

Give the internal critic some time off. As you grow, the critic does not disappear, but gets more subtle. Make sure you listen to whose voice is speaking and ignore the critic voice.

Make sure to take time each day to appreciate all you have accomplished and the moment in time that has brought you to a place of greater fulfillment and prosperity.

Do something physical to nurture and support yourself. Besides the “have to” exercise, include some massage, a walk in nature or anything else that is outside your normal behavior.

As you go through these changes you may not even recognize yourself as you gain greater self-trust and certainty of action. However, after a time you new self will grow strong and even more comfortable then in the old tight shell. Your faith, confidence and tolerance for prosperous changes grows with the awareness that being vulnerable is just part of the natural process of change.

*I regret that I do not find a direct reference to this story other than her name. A Google search did not show her to be actively publishing. If you have any further crediting information, it would be greatly appreciated