What the Buddha Might Say About Change Orders

Impermanence, detachment, and how to stay calm when the scope shifts (again).

You can plan the perfect job. Dial in your scope. Lock your pricing. Submit your submittals.

And then one day, someone says:

“We need to make a change.”

The walls shift. The budget wobbles. The schedule starts to bend.

At that moment, you have two choices: resist or work with it.

The Buddha talked about impermanence—that everything is always in flux. Projects are no exception. In fact, construction might be the most unpredictable of all human pursuits, with hundreds of moving parts, people, conditions, and expectations.

If you fight every change, you burn out.

 If you accept every change blindly, you go broke.

The way forward lies in detachment and discernment.

• Detachment from the idea that plans are permanent.

• Discernment to decide what’s valid, what’s paid, and what’s worth pushing back on.

Change orders aren't the enemy—they're part of the process.

You can resist reality. Or you can become the builder who flows with it.

Field Note:

The scope will shift. Stay steady anyway.