A former elementary school student, now doing graduate work in literary criticism, told me that she’s writing a ‘deconstructionist’ paper on the idea that the classic children’s book *The Little Engine That Could*, by Watty Piper (Platt & Munk, 1930) is actually a radical feminist polemic. 
Once I stopped laughing, I began to think about that Little Engine, and about how she (yes, She, albeit blue in color!) symbolizes what’s possible when someone is willing to make a change.  Briefly, here’s the story:  When the red engine that normally pulls the train carries playthings and good food to the children on the other side of the mountain can no longer make the trip, the dolls and toys try to find another engine to help them get the train to its destination.  After being turned down by several other self-important big engines, the toys finally turn to the Little Blue Engine, who’s only been used for switching trains in the train-yard before.  The LBE had never made this kind of trip before, but she understood why it was important, and so she changed her role to accept this new responsibility  “I think I can, I think I can” she just kept telling herself, and before she knew it, she HAD managed to get the train to the children in need.

Here are some strategies and guidelines to help you cope with change, using the word itself as a mnemonic:

C is for Cause and Choice.    There has to be a valid reason for any change to be necessary; not just a whim.  And you’d better be prepared to defend the reasons for your choice, based on your perception of the need for the change!  
For example:  My school district used a rare (in the worst sense of the word) computerized circulation system, one which requires multiple operations for a simple check-out.  Because I had a full-time aide who took care of all the circulation procedures, I never really bothered to master this particular program. Then the Board of Ed (in its infinite wisdom) decided to eliminate my aide’s position, leaving me with no clerical assistance of any kind in a busy middle school library.   
Cause/Choice: learn how to make this *&%$# program work, or change the procedure to something that will work more efficiently for me.  Since a) the whole district would  be switching to a completely different circ. system in the next year or two;  and b) I didn’t want to be chained to the circ. desk when I should be working on resources with the kids; and c) all the books did still have pockets and cards in them; and d) all I really needed is some way of knowing who’s got what, and when it’s due…  I chose to go back to a very traditional, uncomputerized, self-service check-out system.  I use a 2-section box at the check-out station, with pre-stamped date-due cards in one section.  Students sign the book card in the back of the book, put the signed card in sign-out section of the box, then take a stamped date-due card from the box and put it into the book pocket.   Voila — checked-out book!   At the end of the day I stamp, sort, and file the signed book cards.   It ain’t high-tech, but it does the job just fine, and until I get some clerical help again, that’s the way it will have to be.

H is for Health and/or Humor.   
Health:  Is the proposed change meant to cure an existing problem, or prevent the problem from happening at all?  Internet Filters are a prime example:  are they installed in order to ensure that our students will have access only to educationally-appropriate sites, or because there have been complaints/problems because students have been surfing in strange places, or is the administration insisting on filters as a CYA public relations ploy, just in case something might happen?
Humor:  How many times have we all said plaintively “someday we’ll laugh about this”?  What are we waiting for?  Norman Cousins eloquently proved that laughter can be great medicine.  As long as we’re laughing with, and not at,  maintaining a sense of humor can be one of the best coping mechanisms of all. 
My mother was a school secretary for many years.  She taught me that one of the most important file folders to maintain was the one marked “Hah.”  Into this file go all those  cartoons, jokes, quotations (like Lily Tomlin’s “No matter how cynical I become, it’s never enough to keep up.”), and other ephemera that make you smile.  As you come across any good funnies, put them in here so that you can find them quickly when you need a chuckle to keep you sane.

A is for Attitude and Ability and Action.
Attitude determines whether you see change as a possibility or a problem.
Do you suffer from “PSYCHOSCLEROSIS” - A hardening of the attitudes? 
As in: If you make up your mind that you can do something, you’re probably right.  However, If you’ve made up your mind that you can’t do something, you’re probably right, there, too.  When the Shiny New Passenger Engine couldn’t be bothered, and the Big Strong Freight Engine thought the job was unimportant, and the Kind Old Engine didn’t think it had the strength, it was the Little Blue Engine who saved the day by making the effort.  
It wasn’t that the other engines were incapable; no, they were just unwilling or unable. 
And if you don’t make the effort — put the gears into motion — get things moving — then there is no action, and change requires action.

N is for kNowledge (phonetic spelling) and Networks
Eric Hoffer said: “In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” 
Knowledge is information put to use, not just dead facts.  Learn all you can about the proposed change, figure out the pros and cons, understand what’s involved, and then make an informed decision.  Think of it this way:  A bend in the road is not the end of the road … unless you fail to make the turn.
When I first became a librarian, 40-something years ago, a self-advancing filmstrip projector was considered cutting-edge technology!   Now elementary school students are doing PowerPoint presentations instead of oaktag posters.  But no matter what kind of glue and glitter is used, it’s still the content that’s most important.

Networks come in many forms: personal, professional, political, even physical.  We all need these support systems to help us through the rough times. 
Think about how electric companies get and supply their power to their customers. They, and their competitors/neighboring electric companies, are all connected to a linked power grid, or network. This way each company can borrow power from another firm if their own supply is running low in an emergency. Everyone benefits and shares, for the greater good of all.   And if one company has a unique problem, they can call on the combined resources and expertise of the entire network to help solve it.

G is for Growth.
 Consider these statements:
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” - Charles H. Duell, Director of US Patent Office, 1899.
“Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.”  - Grover Cleveland, 1905.
“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” - Harry M. Warner, Warner Bros Pictures, 1927.
“There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom.” - Robert Miliham, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923.
“Heavier than air flying machines are impossible.”  - Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895.
“Babe Ruth made a big mistake when he gave up pitching.” - Tris Speaker, 1921.
“The horse is here today, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad.”  - President of Michigan Savings Bank advising against investing in the Ford Motor Company.
“Video won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” - Daryl F. Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, commenting on television in 1946.
“What use could the company make of an electric toy?” - Western Union, when it turned down rights to the telephone in 1878.

Gail Sheehy said it best: “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.”

E is for Encouragement and Evaluation.
How many of us have started diets… . more than once?  
Quit smoking… . more than once? 
Without someone cheering us on, supporting and encouraging (and yes, monitoring) us, it’s too easy to backslide into the old ways.  Change needs a cheering section: someone to say “hey, you’re doing good, it’s really working.”  “I think I can, I think I can” does become “I thought I could, I knew I could” when you keep trying without giving up.  
Finally, Evaluation means taking time to assess whether the change is actually accomplishing its goal, and whether it’s worthwhile to continue… .which brings us right back to looking at Cause and Choice all over again!

“I think I can, I think I can” has such a positive, forward-motion rhythm to it; who could resist?
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CHANGE: “I think I can, I think I can” by Alice H. Yucht
originally published in Library Talk January 1999
updated on 2/23/05