Day 91: Change vs. Transformation

Change and Transformation. Two words that get tossed around like they're identical twins, but they're more like distant cousins who only see each other at awkward family reunions.

I was chatting with a mate the other day who kept banging on about how he'd "changed" because he'd started a new diet. Three weeks in and he's talking like he's discovered the meaning of life because he's swapped crisps for carrot sticks. I didn't have the heart to tell him that's not exactly what the ancients meant when they talked about metamorphosis, is it?

Change is a New Outfit, Transformation is a New Mirror

Change is behavioural. Transformation is perceptual. And that's not just me being clever with words (though I am quite pleased with that line, to be honest).

Change asks, "What am I doing differently?" Transformation asks, "Who am I becoming?"

Think about it like this: change is redecorating your living room. Transformation is realising you've been living in the wrong house altogether.

I remember reading somewhere in one of those self-help books (might've been "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, but don't quote me on that, my memory is like a colander these days) that the people who survived the concentration camps weren't necessarily the physically strongest but those who found meaning in their suffering.

That's transformation. Not just changing what you do, but revolutionising how you see.

The Science Part 

According to research in neuroplasticity (see, I can use big words too!), our brains physically reshape themselves based on our repeated thoughts and actions. A study from the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (which I definitely didn't read and just find on a Google search AKA Chatgpt) found that mindfulness meditation actually changes the structure of the brain after just eight weeks.

Now that's not just change, that's transformation on a cellular level!

But here's where it gets interesting. The researchers found that it wasn't the practice itself that caused the most significant changes, but the intention behind it. In other words, going through the motions isn't enough. True transformation requires a shift in what the boffins call "meta-awareness."

Basically, you need to change how you think about thinking. Which sounds like the sort of thing you come up with after too many 6 shots of tequila, but is actually profound if you think about it.

Which I did. Think about it, that is. Not have too many shots. Well, not recently anyway.

Change Management vs. Transformation Leadership (The Corporate Bit)

Now, I know what you're thinking. "This all sounds very spiritual and woo-woo. What about in the real world of quarterly targets and performance reviews?"

Fair point. Let me put on my serious business voice for a minute.

In the corporate world, change management is about implementing new processes, systems, or structures. It's about moving from point A to point B in a controlled, often linear fashion.

Transformation leadership, on the other hand, is about reimagining what's possible. It's about moving from point A to point oh-my-word!-I-didn't-even-know-that-existed.

It's like trying to make a fish fly by attaching wings to it. Without changing the fish's fundamental understanding of its environment, those wings are just fancy accessories.

How to Tell If You're Changing or Transforming (The Practical Bit)

Alright, enough philosophising. How do you know if you're merely changing or genuinely transforming? Here are some tell-tale signs:

1. You're Changing If:
   • You're doing new things but thinking the same thoughts
   • You measure progress by external metrics only
   • You can easily go back to old patterns when stressed
   • The change feels like hard work all the time
2. You're Transforming If:
   • The new behaviours feel like they're coming from a different person (that's still you, just a different version)
   • You see the world through a new lens
   • Going back to old patterns feels strange or impossible
   • The change feels more like an unfolding than a forcing

In Ezekiel 36:26, God says, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (ESV)

That's transformation language. Not just new behaviours, but a new heart. A new operating system, if you will.

When Change Isn't Enough (The Hard Truth Bit)

Here's the uncomfortable truth: sometimes change just isn't enough.

You can change jobs 17 times and still feel unfulfilled if you haven't transformed your relationship with work.

You can change partners and still end up in the same arguments if you haven't transformed your understanding of love.

You can change your diet, your exercise routine, your meditation practice, your journaling habit, and still feel stuck if you haven't transformed your identity.

I read this fascinating study from the University of Scranton (which sounds made up, but apparently isn't) that found that 92% of people who set New Year's resolutions fail to keep them. NINETY-TWO PERCENT!

Why? Because they're trying to change behaviours without transforming beliefs.

It's like that scene in "Jurassic Park" where Jeff Goldblum says, "Life, uh, finds a way." Well, your old self, uh, finds a way... to sabotage your changes if you haven't done the deeper transformative work.

Wait, that's not a great analogy, is it? Like comparing New Year's resolutions to dinosaurs breaking out and eating people. Actually, on second thought, that's exactly what it's like. Terrifying and ultimately futile.

The Terrifying Truth About Transformation

Here's the bit they don't tell you in the shiny self-help books with the grinning authors on the cover: true transformation is terrifying.

When the disciples saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain, they didn't high-five each other and say, "Awesome light show, bro!" Matthew 17:6 tells us, "When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified." (ESV)

Transformation isn't just about becoming a better version of yourself; it's about dying to an old version. And death, even metaphorical death, is scary.

That's why so many of us settle for change instead. We'll change jobs, change houses, change partners, change diets, change Netflix subscriptions anything to avoid the deeper transformation that's calling us.

As C.S. Lewis put it, "It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."

The Final Word (For Real This Time)

Change makes you better. Transformation makes you different.

Change is upgrading your phone. Transformation is realising that iPhone is way better than your android phone, in all aspects!!!

Change is important. Transformation is essential.

And the good news? You don't have to choose. You can pursue both. Change what needs changing. Transform what needs transforming. And have the wisdom to know the difference.

Because this is what we do now!