Dealing with change / crisis: “Awful” vs. “Awe-full” – Small shift, big difference

We have all dealt with change, crises or just unfortunate situations. All of us know how easy it is to get drowned in sorrow and dwelling on how bad or unpleasant the situation or change is. We typically have also heard and know the mantras of viewing such situations as positive, as an opportunity and chance to get better. But how do we do that exactly? I came across a small hack that might help. 

“Awful” vs. “Awe-full”

A change / crisis / bad situation is often described as “awful”. Awful has two basic meanings, one widely used today and one older more literal meaning: 

• Awful = unpleasant, bad, extremely disagreeable: “Awful” generally means something negative: very unpleasant, bad or extremely disagreeable. 
• Awe-full = full of respect and wonder: Looking at the word in more detail, it is comprised of “awe” and “full”. As confirmed by numerous dictionaries the meaning originates from the more neutral and even positive expression “full of awe”, i.e. deeply respectful or reverential, awe inspiring, full of wonder.

Viewing change / crisis as “awe-full”: What it means

Can you remember the last time you have been or seen someone in awe? Typical image for me is a kid with big eyes and a slightly opened mouth, standing for example in front of a giant playground for the first time. What does the kid do? Simplistically speaking, there are three steps: 

• Observation and acknowledging: It observes, accepts, and takes the situation in. It might even be frightened and insecure considering all the options and information overload. 
• Exploring and understanding: It gets on exploring with wonder, trying to understand what is going on, what the playground offers. 
• Acting and making use: It plays with the opportunities it finds interesting.

These are basic steps, we typically do intuitively in new situations. 

Viewing change and bad situations as “awe-full” doesn’t force us to view a situation as either bad or good. Viewing situations with awe allows us to do both. Awe is “an emotion variously combining dread and wonder“.It allows us to accept both directions we might be pulled in: the negative and dreadful bit, where we are scared and angry what is happening / happened and the positive bit, the wonder of what is coming next and the energy to explore and seize new opportunities. 

The benefit of viewing change / crisis with “awe” 

I find viewing change and crises with “awe” useful for various reasons:

• It resolves a dilemma:  I see myself and others (both individuals and organizations) often in a dilemma of either seeing the change / crisis as bad or forcing to see the positive in the situation. Looking at it with “awe” allows for both. We don't have to force so much as simply accept and deal with the dread while exploring and acting on what can be done next. 
• Intuitive and actionable: “Awe” is a concept easy to grasp in images and feelings that readily translate into specific and intuitive to dos: observing and acknowledging, exploring and understanding, acting and making use. All of that can of course happen parallel to some extent. We also don’t need a playbook or to-do list telling us what to do, which are anyways difficult to remember and even more so to implement, because we have an immediate sense of direction and intuitive to-dos.
• Applicable to individuals and organizations: The steps described that a kid does in awe are basic textbook advice in (self-) management on how to deal with change / crisis.
• Fun factor: It helps to simply feel again like a kid, at least a bit. Reminding us to simply be kids again on a big playground can be a lot of fun considering all the smiles / laughter / wonder / excitement, inducing a fun factor in our often serious grown-up world.

I’d be very interested to read your comments about your thoughts and experiences.