“Change is gonna do me good.”
Those words, made memorable in song by Etta James, capture a truth that extends far beyond matters of the heart. In the song, the singer reflects not only on the loss of a relationship but also on the ways she reshaped herself in hopes of earning someone else’s love. Her conclusion is simple and profound: change is going to do her good.
Perhaps that is true for all of us.
Change is rarely comfortable. We are naturally drawn to the familiar—to the places where we feel competent, experienced, and in control. Yet the very conditions that make us feel secure can also become the conditions that keep us from growing.
In her book Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work, Whitney Johnson argues that effective leaders pay attention to the signs that an employee is approaching a plateau. They recognize that growth is seldom a straight line. There are seasons when learning slows, enthusiasm fades, and work begins to feel more routine than rewarding.
Often, the first sign is boredom. Losing motivation to work on something or the thought that something new might be awaiting in the work in which the employee is involved.
Boredom is more than a passing feeling; it can be an invitation to ask what comes next. When we stop stretching ourselves, our creativity begins to shrink. Innovation gives way to habit, curiosity to routine, and engagement to simply getting through the day.
Johnson encourages leaders—and all of us—to notice those early signs in ourselves and in our colleagues before stagnation takes hold. The question then becomes: What would stretch me now? For one person, the answer may be a new project or expanded responsibilities. For another, it may be a different role, a new organization, or even an entirely different career path. Growth rarely looks the same for everyone.
Of course, hesitation often accompanies change. We resist leaving the places where we have become experts. There is comfort in familiarity. Yet remaining in the same place simply because it is familiar can gradually lead to stagnation, disengagement, or the quiet resignation that has become known as “quiet quitting.”
Every meaningful change carries some measure of grief. We leave behind what is known, and even good endings require us to let go of something. But grief and growth are not opposites; they often travel together.
More often than not, change really does us good. It reveals strengths we never knew we possessed, teaches us new ways of contributing, and opens doors we may never have considered walking through. Sometimes it even introduces us to a version of ourselves that has been waiting patiently to emerge.
So perhaps the next time change comes calling, we can greet it a little less fearfully and a little more curiously. It may be asking us not to become someone else; instead it may invite us to become more fully ourselves.
Change, after all, just might do us good.
