Do People Really Change?

If I didn't believe they do, then I couldn't do my job. That's the answer I should have given when I was asked this question recently at a networking event. It's a fair question, and one I'm asked often. The answer I gave was along the lines of  "Yes. I see it happen every day." I see it happen so much in fact, that I continually work myself out of a job! My goal is to get clients to a point where they can maintain what we've created all on their own. If I was certain that chaos would eventually encroach in most cases, then I couldn't in good conscious promote a service that only promised fleeting results. There is a crucial turning point that shows me that someone is truly changing, not just able to take my advice. I'm proud when I see clients take initiative to make their own improvements in between sessions. For some this happens immediately. For others, it comes months down the line. A client once surprised me with a tour of everything she had done that was not on her to-do list. This came after her eighth session with me. In most cases, the offices I see don't belong to people who have been messy their entire lives.  Somehow the mess creeped in when they were busy moving, raising a family, growing a business, getting a divorce, getting a degree, and going through other life changes.

I firmly believe that it is our natural state to gravitate towards order and beauty. At some point, getting organized should feel like turning downstream. I don't see my work as taking an inherently disorganized person and making them something they're not. I see it as taking someone who craves order and reminding them of the time before their office was a hazard zone - even it it was ages ago, even if it was before they had an office. I believe people change when they do it for themselves. It doesn't work when a spouse, colleague, or even an organizer tells them to. It happens when they catch a glimpse of how good it feels to be in control. Again.

Your Challenge:

Waking up early (as in, when the rest of the world wakes up) has always been a challenge for me. I recently told a friend, "I'm not willing to do the one thing that I know will get me out of bed: put my alarm on the other side of the room." It sounded so defiantly childish coming out of my mouth as I said it. What did I find myself doing the next day? Walking across the room to turn that alarm off, and finding two more hours in my day.

What ways do you need to change? What is one thing you know will change things dramatically for you, if only you did it? Please share in the comments!