Nearly two thousand years ago, Ovid wrote The Metamorphoses . A collection of stories in which gods, heroes, and humans undergo radical changes: Daphne transforms into a laurel tree to escape Apollo, Narcissus becomes a flower, Arachne changes into a spider. Each story tells of both loss and birth, one identity unraveling so that another may emerge.
These mythological stories, although rooted in a distant imagination, can find a powerful echo in our professional lives in the 21st century.
Metamorphosis, a process that is still current today
Because, ultimately, what is a reorganization, a reconversion, the emergence of a new technology, or the transition to new ways of working, if not a metamorphosis? We leave a known state to enter the unknown. We go through phases of resistance, adaptation, and sometimes crisis, before finding a new balance.
From change to identity upheaval
In Metamorphoses , transformation is often experienced as a shock, sometimes as violence. In business, it is the same: a new role can upset our benchmarks, the arrival of a tool like artificial intelligence can challenge our skills, a change can question our place. A simple change of organization can trigger waves of doubt: Am I still competent? What is my value here? Where is my place?
This is because metamorphosis always affects more than just the surface. It affects not only what we do, but also who we believe we are. NLP teaches us that every change unfolds on several levels: environment, behaviors, abilities, values, identity, spirituality. Changing one can resonate with others. Thus, changing a work tool sometimes also means changing the way we define our role, and ultimately, our perception of ourselves within the organization.
A lesson for the professional world
Ovid's lesson for our professional world is clear: metamorphosis is not a mere technical transition. It is a passage that can resonate existentially. It involves leaving behind certainties, accepting the discomfort of "neither one nor the other," and daring to cross into the unknown to discover new inner territories.
In a context where careers are less linear, where jobs are constantly reinventing themselves, where adaptation has become a key skill, Ovid's stories remind us that change is not just about adjusting. It is about learning to redefine oneself.
And if each professional transformation upsets us, it is because it often also makes us touch on what is most intimate: the question of our identity. In The Metamorphoses , certain stories can take on an unexpected resonance with our professional realities today.
🔵Daphne , who turns into a laurel tree to escape Apollo, reminds us that some changes are not chosen, but endured. Yet, even in flight and constraint, a new form of existence is born.
🔵Arachne , punished for defying the Gods and transformed into a spider, illustrates the art of reappropriating one's talent in a new space.
🔵Philomela , silenced but transformed into a swallow, symbolizes the ability to find a voice even after oppression or injustice.
🔵Narcissus , who loses himself in his own reflection, warns us of the dangers of a fixed identity.
So the next time a change seems insurmountable, let's remember: we're not just losing something. We may already be becoming someone else.
"Nothing remains as it is, and renewing everything, Nature always makes one form into another. Nothing dies, believe me, but everything in the universe varies, changes its appearance. What we call being born is beginning to be other than we were, and dying is ceasing to be that other."
— Ovid, Metamorphoses , Book XV
