Last Updated on June 13, 2025 by Dave Schoenbeck
Are you feeling the need to change your business and life, but struggling to find the motivation to do so? You’re not alone. I’ve coached hundreds of professional business people, and most of us grapple with the same nagging notion that we must do something different. We often find ourselves making excuses to avoid taking action. But the first step is acknowledging this struggle; you’ve already taken it by reading this blog article.
Have you ever said this to yourself…”I should think about this before I worry about it.” That’s called avoidance, my friend, and we all do it. The solution is to think about this differently; therefore, I believe you should learn from and benefit from the formula for change. I know that it will help you because it has helped me.
Here is the formula for change:
D is the dissatisfaction that you feel about your current situation.
V is your vision for the future. Or, to put it another way, what it will look like when you make the change.
F stands for the first steps you will take to initiate a change.
R is the powerful resistance that you feel that keeps you from making the change.
Let me show you how it works. I decided after Christmas that I had put on too much weight and finally had to do something about it. I continually deferred making this decision for a couple of years because I enjoyed eating and drinking what I wanted to, and I felt OK with the extra weight as long as I didn’t get on a scale. My Resistance to losing weight was very high. At about the same time, I had my annual physical, and the blood work results showed some readings that concerned me. My Dissatisfaction suddenly soared and became the real catalyst for rethinking my weight and health. My Vision of the future became clear to me. I pictured myself in a new, slimmer profile suit as I walked my daughter down the aisle at her upcoming wedding. I pictured a two-notch improvement in my belt size. I envisioned a fitter, more energetic, and more athletic-looking version of myself, and I was now motivated to make a change. The First Steps are apparent to everyone. Get more exercise, adopt a better diet, and find a new way to measure the results (thank you, Fitbit). The good news is that it worked. I am halfway to my aggressive weight reduction goal and feel great about my progress. The formula for change worked for me.
Review the formula for change again, and identify an irritating, often overlooked obstacle you need to overcome in your business. Plug in a score for each variable and perform the calculations. If you remember your algebra, the D and V have a multiplication sign in between them. That means if you score one of those with a zero or a low number, you will never overcome the much larger number of your R. You can have a tremendous first-step action plan with your super high F, but if your D and V are low, you won’t have enough momentum to make the change. The real solution is to manufacture a more considerable Dissatisfaction and Vision. It would be best to convince yourself that you aren’t comfortable with the status quo to overcome your powerful Resistance. It’s just simple math.
To help stimulate your thinking about how to apply this to your business, here are a few hefty Rs that I hear during my coaching sessions…..
“ I don’t want to upgrade my staff because they have been with me for so long.”
“ I never have enough time to finish everything and can’t work any harder.”
“ I am hesitant about expanding my business. It’s too risky.”
“ I need to find a General Manager to run my business every day so that I can do more interesting work.”
“ I love my business, but I am not making enough money.”
“ I don’t know what to do with my business when it’s time to retire.”
Here’s a challenging thought. Your WHY has to be bigger than your WHY NOT! If you lose your way, you will lose your way.
You can relate to one or a couple of these. You may have another list detailing all the major tasks you need to accomplish, but you never seem to have enough energy and focus to complete them. You can try out the formula for change on one of these and email me to work out a plan.
Coach Dave
