The Mic

Unlocking Human Potential through Leading Positive Change

The power of positive change transformed my life and let me tell you why.

Everyone has a story to tell, a story that starts out with childhood experiences that shape who we become as adults. Some of these stories are told with pain and trauma that changes the course of our lives.

Experiencing trauma is more common than you might think. About 70% of people globally will experience a traumatic event in their lives. Living a normal life after a traumatic event may seem impossible, but the truth is, normal is relative, because you will change.

As a you girl growing up in Brooklyn, New York, I remember my mom, an Italian immigrant coming to America, teaching my sisters and I the importance of family, culture and hard work. Her strength in getting through the tough times was incredibly inspiring to me.

As the years passed by, my mom progressively lost her eyesight to macular degeneration. Her eyesight got worst over time, and she learned to live using her other senses. She was a strong independent woman, and she wanted to continue to do the things she did before, but she couldn’t and had to adjust to a new way of doing things. She came to realize that her love for cooking did not have to stop, she just had to figure out ways to make it easier to make a meal. See, although this was incredibly hard at first, she challenged herself each day to demonstrate the strength she taught us growing up. My mom passed away in 2020 at the age of 87 from covid but I will always remember that she taught my sisters and I that we have the power to change the course of our lives. She didn’t have a lot growing up as a child in Italy and she lost her mom at the age of 13 and had to find her way. The stories of her childhood was a powerful message to all of us. Till this day when I am struggling with a tough situation, I pause and think, what would mom say, what would mom do, she continues to inspire me in spirit.

Fast forward 3 years later in 2023, I went through 3 life changing events, all at the same time. First, my daughter (31 years old at the time) was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer – and as you can imagine, hearing this news was devastated to both me and my family. Second, my house in upstate New York was hit by a lightning storm and went up in flames, while we were still in it, and truly mind boggling that I am here to tell that story Third, I was offered a voluntary retirement package from my corporate job – which was a huge crossroads for me as my life was my work, my identity, and I felt lost without it. Of those three events, the retirement package may have seemed like a positive change because of the timing of the other events, but at the time, it didn’t feel like it, and it allowed me to take a pause and reflect on a whole new perspective in my life. For about 12 months, I felt like I was having an outer body experience and questioning if any of it was real. I have talked with so many people about my story to better understand the impact of life altering experiences and it kept coming back to better understanding the power of positive change.

Change brings on so much uncertainty. Uncertainty brings on unwanted stress and unwanted stress brings on mental and chronic illness. I spent over 30+ years in leadership roles challenged with leading and managing change in business. I saw what it did to people. Change can either paralyze you or empower you, only we can be the ones who can make that choice. The choice to create positive change in our lives.

I have come to realize that everything happens for a reason. Trauma does not define us, we define it! And I made a choice to live and work in Paradise, the Florida Keys, with my husband, Bob and my two pups, Junie and Marley. Look, there will be trauma, there will be crises, it will happen, but the true test of stretching one’s potential is not preparing for and going through unsettling events, although that will help you become more resilient, but rather, positive change that truly stretches you. What is did for me, helped me to change my mindset and perspective, helped me to think bigger of what was possible on the other side of change, and it helped me to seek unlimited opportunities that was right in front of me that I did not see before.

We become different people on the other side of change. Especially what we value and how we see ourselves. These things all shift and if we pay attention to these internal shifts, we will find that change doesn’t limit us but rather can expand us. When I think back at my life choices I made, every one of them was a test: A test of my capability, A test of my resiliency and a test of my perseverance. But the most important test was to demonstrate the skills I needed to lead myself and others through positive change. People who embody the principles of positive change are better able to: connect with others, commit to action and sustain performance through the most difficult of times. Look, although nothing really prepares you for unexpected tragedies, but it did help me to share the blueprint for unlocking human potential, my true potential and how I show up in the world. It changed my direction.

So, the good news, after almost 2 years of chemotherapy, radiation, all kinds of medication, my daughter is cancer free; we sought out the original builder for our home who built us a new home and new owners are enjoying it; and as for retirement, well not so much. I continue to reinvest myself and find ways to serve my purpose in the world. So now that you know the WHY instilling positive change in all we do is important, let’s talk about the HOW we do it and bring others along on the journey. It means you are not only developing advocates for the positive change but also future leaders who will be the change agents we so need. Recognize that not everyone will believe that what you are doing is positive, but our job as leaders/role models is to create an environment where everyone understands the WHY and can envision a better future.

Here are the 5 key elements of the HOW:

1. Create a climate of positivity by being authentic and leading by example.
2. Establish the right conditions and communicate what the positive change will create.
3. Inspire with a vision that others will want to join you on your journey.
4. Share in the commitment that we are all in this together.
5. Validate the vision by creating the momentum for what it will take to make it happen.

So here you have it, it’s that simple, the framework for success. Let’s do this…

Each one of us has what it takes to unlock human potential.

Design the best of conditions and build trust.

Inspire others with a vision that will want to join you on this journey of life.

And as Mahatma Gandi said:
“Our greatest ability as humans is not to change the world, but to change ourselves”

Resources
Bright, S., Bright Strategies, L. L. C., France, A. C., Pierce, R. G., & Beyt, G. POSITIVE CHANGE LEADERSHIP.

Hamilton, S., (2019). CRACKING THE CURIOSITY CODE: The Key to Unlocking Human Potential

Suryanarayana, A. (2016) “UNLOCKING HUMAN POTENTIAL THROUGH LEADING POSITIVE CHANGE.” A review of an Enabling Framework and Behavioral Guidelines.