As introverts we are often perceived as stubborn. Have you ever had someone tell you that you’re resistant to change… stubborn? The good news is, you can leverage that stubbornness to create positive change in your life. Just decide for yourself. 
I recently was reminded of my stubbornness with my husband. I was resistant to the idea of my being resistant to change and then – I remembered a self-assessment, which told me this several years ago! The assessment called it, inflexible but it’s the same thing. I started to get angry and then grew silent. I asked myself: “Maybe it’s time I let this go!”
Once I gave myself the needed time to emotionally process the news, which I’ve more and more come to recognize these ah-ha moments, I decided I was going to do something constructive about it.
That was the beginning of the end to being resistant to change in the areas of my life that still need mastering and influence my ability to be more healthy and happy. I was determined to demonstrate there was a new and improved me, open and willing to change, even if only to myself.
I made it a high-priority goal: to improve my level of reaction.
I took something familiar and small to work with: to react with curiosity when my husband tells me of something he did which I disagree. It’s something that comes up often so I was quite soon to be tested! I was surprised how differently I replied. He was too.
Some of my habits (like being upset with unreliable vendors) I gave myself more time to accept the change: that is, be open to the idea that they will make a problem right.
While other habits, like recharging my morning routine, I jumped into right away. A new idea came to me while working out in the morning. It was necessary and also something I wanted anyway. The reason for two approaches to habit change, we are all human and some habits we are more attached to than others. So, it’s helpful to allow the time to embrace in particular a less-than-healthy habit for a little while, and then go cold turkey with it, or … lessen your reliance on it.
The secret to positive change is to leverage your stubbornness and use “practical baby steps” for meeting your goals. It’s both in stress management and physical fitness that I can find ways within little or no time, to feel more empowered, confident and healthier. I feel like I learned something after all from two Chef’s Table for Entrepreneurs Telesummit health and wellness speakers, Snowden McFall and Chalene Johnson.
Hope knowing that either stress management or physical fitness helps you the next time someone calls you “stubborn” or you’re feeling stuck in the area of wellness.
PS – As a result of making these changes, I now regularly feel free in other situations that require some change in me. Do you ever get labeled “stubborn?” Have you ever tried to improve on that?
Pat — I agree that we can hold on to our point of view long after we know it’s time for a change. But I think there is something else at work here — fear of change. While we may not want to change because we’re stubborn or it’s easier to stay in the same old rut, at root is fear of the consequences of doing something differently or striking out in new directions.
Fear could be a factor at play Jeannette.