Change Hacking

Blogpost by Florence Pérès. Read this blogpost in Dutch.

"Change Hacking"? As if you could simply undo change with a few clever tricks?

Not quite. It’s not about resisting change or reversing it—it’s about handling it differently. And sometimes, the most effective strategies are surprisingly simple. These are what I call Change Hacks.

Everything starts with perspective: do you see change as something undesirable, or as the most natural thing in the world? "Change is the only constant" - a cliché we rarely truly embrace. Sometimes change feels like a setback; other times, it’s positive. But more often than not, it’s just inconvenient because we already have enough on our plate. Yet change is all around us, and resisting it is futile. It only leads to stress. What you can influence is how you respond to it - because your reaction is within your control.

And that brings us to a fundamental Change Hack: focus on what you can control and don’t waste energy on what you cannot change. So how can you shift your perspective on change, and what actions can you take?

From resilience to adaptive agility

In today’s fast-moving world, adaptation is more than a survival skill—it’s a competitive advantage. But it’s not just about resilience, the ability to "bounce back" after setbacks. Adaptive agility means flexibly responding to change in real-time and actively shaping the future rather than merely reacting to it.

If you often feel resistance, uncertainty, or pessimism when facing change - or if the constant wave of change is exhausting you - then developing adaptive resilience is essential. Even naturally optimistic people who can easily put things into perspective benefit from strategies to handle different types of challenges more effectively.

For example, when faced with a tangled web of problems and feeling overwhelmed, you can first “comb the spaghetti” - a highly methodical and analytical Change Hack that helps untangle complexity and create clarity.

Other Change Hacks are related to foster more proactivity and anticipate change. And some Change Hacks are designed to be used in teams, such as the 'Z-of-Change' for shifting from negativity to neutrality.

Why our brain resists change

Understanding how our brain processes change gives us an edge in handling it better. While our brain’s reward system craves novelty, our primitive brain—the so-called reptilian brain—prefers stability and certainty. In the past, change happened gradually, giving us time to adapt. Today, however, technological advancements, digitalization, and globalization accelerate change at an unprecedented rate. The result? Resistance, fear, stress.

Also with AI rapidly transforming industries and redefining job roles, the ability to embrace change is more crucial than ever. Resistance, stress, and fear are instinctive reactions and survival remains our priority. Unfortunately, our brain has not evolved at the speed of modern change. Anything unclear, unknown, uncertain, unpredictable, or unexpected is perceived as a potential threat. However, we can rewire our mindset by shifting from fear to curiosity, from uncertainty to opportunity.

We have to change the way we look at change

Once you recognize that resistance is simply your brain’s protective instinct, you can take back control. Curiosity and questioning are the perfect antidotes to fear. In my keynote, you’ll not only learn practical techniques to navigate change but also a new way to see change:

✅ From fear to wonder

✅ From resistance to challenge

✅ From denial to ownership

✅ From negativity to neutrality

✅ From stagnation to growth and innovation

✅ From transition to transformation

Change fuels progress. It keeps us sharp, washes away the outdated, and makes room for growth. Without change, there is no evolution. This keynote equips you with the mindset and tools to not just cope with change, but to leverage it—so you can thrive in a world where adaptability is the ultimate superpower.