What chemistry taught me about making individual change

I did not excel at chemistry in college. I failed Chemistry 1, retook it, passed, and then failed Chemistry 2. It didn’t help that I was inconsistent in showing up to lectures. ;) That’s why I find it so unusual that now I’m fascinated by Chemistry. There’s so much that makes sense now that I didn’t appreciate when I was in college for my undergraduate degree.

Individual change is like chemical reactions. A chemical reaction changes a substance into a different substance (or substances). They don’t just change state, like water freezing, they become a completely different substance. It takes a lot of energy to break the bonds between atoms and form new bonds required for the reaction.

If you think about this same process when we are trying to do something new, it makes complete sense why change can be hard. When we are trying to change (basically take on a completely new identity), whether due to taking on a new role, learning a new skill, or any type of change that takes real mindset and behavioral adjustments, it requires a transformation. Like in a chemical reaction, it takes a lot of energy to break the bonds with have with a current identity. It would be much easier and require less energy to simply stay the same. 

This analogy helps me make sense of why it’s so hard for us to truly change. Because each bond with our old self has to be broken. In coaching, that’s what I’m helping my clients do. Each session is breaking a bond with a piece of their old identity (or limiting belief) and forming a new bond with a new belief or part of who they are becoming.

Just like for a chemical reaction, you need energy to convert substances. Coaching can be that energy you need to actually make a transformation you have been wanting to make. You don’t have to come up with all that energy on your own. Send me a message if there’s a change/ transformation you have been wanting to make that you haven’t found the energy to do. I can help.