Change isn’t just the left over money in your pocket!

Yesterday my mothers laptop auto-updated, and with that came a new layout and a different way of doing things. 

“Why do they have to keep changing it?!”

My mum proclaimed with total frustration. She wanted the screen the way that it was  before. The way that she is used to, irrespective of if there were improvements within the new style and layout.

It had me reflecting on my own personal relationship with change. Its not been the easiest journey to travel. In fact it was one of the hardest lessons in life for me to accept, that regardless of anything  I may or may not do, everything changes. I am a creature of habit and even as I strive to help change the world for the better, I must acknowledge that I take comfort in the familiar. For much of my adult life I chose to remain comfortable and not administer change where it was my choice. But you do not grow and progress by remaining in your comfort zone. I believe that there are lessons to learn in every experience, and that is not to say that they will be positive or well received.

When it comes to change, there a some distinct and specific ways in which people may react.According to Ken Blanchard there are seven common ways in which people react to change. JM Fisher’s Process of Personal Transition, details eight ways in which people react to change: 

• Anxiety – can I cope?
• Happiness – at last something is going to change!
• Fear – what impact will the change have on me?
• Threat – the problem is bigger than I thought.
• Guilt – are the past failings down to me?
• Disillusionment – this is not for me so I’m leaving.
• Acceptance – maybe things won’t be so bad.
• Excitement – I’m looking forward to the challenge.

The Change Curve (based on the model by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross) CREDIT: The IC Space 

 It is often suggested that panic is the most common reaction, driven by the fear of the unknown. And for me that was often a gut reaction. My comfort meant that anything outside of that was not welcome. We have all had to go through much change in 2020,  majority of which has been completely out of our control. The buzz phrase “new normal” is continuously volleyed about in reference to the current climate and the changes we are having to make as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Much of these changes has been met with a lot of resistance, with people not wanting to social distance, quarantine or wear masks. I have heard people proclaim that ‘if it’s not broke don’t fix it’, something I feel cannot be used in relation to a pandemic that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. 

I have learnt to look at change as a positive thing, you cannot win a race without moving forwards. If a caterpillar didn’t change, then it wouldn’t become a butterfly. And so, as I reflect on the unexpected changes that I have had to embrace this year I will leave you with some of my favourite change quotes.

*I WOULD ALSO URGE YOU TO HELP MAKE MAKE A POSITIVE CHANGE BY SIGNING THE PETITION BELOW:

Make black history a compulsory part of the national curriculum for all ages

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”- John Maxwell

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs 

“If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou 

“Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.” – Hugh Prather 

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” – Andy Warhol 

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change” -Albert Einstein

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward” -Martin Luther King Jr.

Credit: Good Housekeeping

Credit: Good Housekeeping

Credit: Good Housekeeping

Credit: Good Housekeeping

The power of one voice…the courage of one person

In my article ‘An Activist heart?’, I reflect on a joke I often made in the past that “give me a cause and i’ll fight for it” and I will always stand up and speak out whenever necessary. But I want it noted now, that none of this is a joke to me. I take the mistreatment of Black people very seriously and hope that the words that I publish on my website can help make changes and play a part in making a better future for next generations. 

We have all seen in recent news what the power of one voice and the courage of one person can do. Marcus Rashford, a 22 year old Manchester United footballer used the power of his voice to speak up and stand up for children in poverty and got Boris Johnson to u-turn on his decision to all 1.3m children in England to claim free school meal vouchers in the summer holidays. In an open letter to the UK government, Rashford stated “the system isn’t built for families like mine to succeed”. He speaks from the heart and from experience in his quest for food for children from poverty driven backgrounds. Whilst we celebrate this amazing achievement we should also acknowledge the other great work that Rashford is doing for others and his communities. In conjunction with FareShare UK, he has helped raise about £20m to supply three million meals to vulnerable people during the coronavirus lockdown.

Credit: All my sports news

History has provided us with many examples of what the power of one voice and the courage of one person can achieve. It only takes the action of one person to start a movement and effect t change. If we look across the Atlantic at America we can see many examples of  key events and leaders which led to big changes. One of the most notable ones, being Rosa Parks  who on the 1st December 1955, amidst a society that still enforced segregations laws refused to give her seat up for a white man. We later saw the power that can come from multiple voices speaking up and multiple people standing up with  Little Rock Nine and the battle to end public school segregation.  There is power in unity and we need to make use of that. 

Credit: History.com

Credit: Getty Images 

I recently mentioned in my letter of thanks to Jill Scott that I have been inspired to use my gift of writing and my ability to emote feelings and experiences for a greater good. I began with a petition to UK Parliament to “Make black history a compulsory part of the national curriculum for all ages”. Something that was met with much resistance and led to the publishing of my PSA – In the words of Jay-Z…..Allow me to reintroduce myself! To my dismay, my petition was initially rejected on the grounds that they “can’t accept new petitions that make the same request as an existing petition” this led to my OPEN LETTER TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS PETITION COMMITTEE.

Click the link at the bottom of this article and help me make a better future

Following on from this, I am happy to confirm that my response was well received and the petition is now live. I did it! And whilst this is only one small step in the right direction I feel as if I have won the lottery! This is just the beginning, I am not giving up and I urge you all not to either. Please click the link below and sign my petition, while it may only take one voice to speak up and the courage of one person to stand up, I need all of your support to ensure changes are made.

“Make black history a compulsory part of the national curriculum for all ages”

Thank you x

An Activist heart?

I always joke that you just need to give me a cause and ill fight for it. I’ve always been one to champion the underdog. Bet on any David over a Goliath.Im the friend that calls in when theres a problem with the food, my friends and family tend to prefer that i’m the one that speaks to management when situations call for it.Why though? Does it come easier for me? Not at all. I suffer with social social anxiety and as such I am always making a conscious effort to move past it. I’ll often voluntarily put myself into the situations that I don’t like or wish to avoids, ones that the inner me is screaming at me to flee from. I know what it feels like to get to my worst point and I actively work to avoid this. So no, I don’t speak up because it comes easier to me. It doesn’t, but I was a little girl who didn’t speak up and I refuse to be an adult that does the same.

I joked in a twitter post that I made back in May that lockdown had made me discover my activist heart. But the reality is I have always known that I have one.

3 years ago I embarked on my until now, biggest David to Goliath battle. It had come to my notice that my local gym was getting rid of the health suite when it was remodelled. Now, you’re probably thinking its not that deep. And it shouldn’t be. However, having a disabled mother who paid monthly gym membership just to get the benefits of the health suite, I took to the cause with full vim. 

I hadn’t ever confronted a corporation of this size on anything before but knew that I needed to garner support and that involved making people aware. I had heard the news myself through the grapevine, but I wanted to reach a much wider audience. I started a petition on change.org to get people to sign up and oppose the changes that the gym were planning.

I spoke to management who informed me that everyone had been made aware during the consultation stages. This contradicted many of the responses that I had from people. In fact while I got every other spam content from the gym, notification of this major change was not one of them.  My petition on change.org was not moving fast enough for me, so I began to print flyers and hand them out before and after every class. Leaving flyers on the various notice boards around the gym didn’t help as staff would efficiently remove them at a rate faster then I could post them. 

As my petition began to gain publicity and promotion, other people expressed a desire to be on board. I found that there were more people invested in this then I had originally anticipated. Now as a group we were able to create a much bigger stink, and ended up finally getting enough attention of the local council and upper gym management to facilitate meetings. This led to the arrangement of our local MP who had learned of our campaign. I didn’t win in keeping the whole health suite. The gym seemed adamant that the design would not allow for it, and even having an architect in board who drew up alternative plans, could not sway them. 

Overall, this battle took 2 plus years. It was exhausting much of the time and, til now I have no clue how I became the face of  the driving force behind the campaign. We didn’t win the war but we survived many battles along the way. They renamed the area on the new plans as a health suite and increased the capacity of the steam room and sauna from their first. I don’t say all this for you to give me credit, no, instead I say this, I know championing a cause is the long game. I tried for years to make this change. That was just the warm up! Education and the irradiation of racism are even greater causes and so much more dear to my heart. So as I prepare to depart on my latest journey, just know that I begin with eyes wide open. I know it will be hard work, but if one thing doesn’t change, nothing ever will!