How To Navigate + Thrive in Transition
Transitions are never easy. In fact, they can be extremely uncomfortable.
Our body’s love routine. Our mind’s love predictability. Our ego’s love certainty.
Transition - by definition - can not exist within these parameters. Transition is the slow, almost undetectable, change that occurs all around us all the time.
Whether it be seasonally as the leaves change hue and subdue to gravity, piling on the Earth…or transitions in our lives between careers, homes, partnership, and most potently, identity.
It’s our nature to hold on. Hold onto what feels “known” - what feels comfortable. It’s our nature to grasp onto the illusion of certainty; the illusion of security that says we can evade pain + suffering by remaining in a container of constancy.
In reality, these slow transitions are the essence of our existence. Like the seamless transition from inhalation to exhalation, these slow transitions make up every single moment of the tapestry of our lives.
If we’re not careful and let these seemingly undetectable transitions go unacknowledged, we rob ourselves of the opportunity to create transformation within transition. Without acknowledging how we show up + move through these transition spaces, we inevitably do ourselves a disservice. We rob ourselves of the power + right to respond. We rob ourselves of the gift to dance with every moment that unfolds before us.
So, how do we navigate + thrive in transitions?
Slow down + observe
Transitional seasons can be extremely overwhelming. It can feel like one day you wake up, and without any warning, everything feels different. At which point, it’s a natural defense mechanism to grasp. Grasp onto the old, the known, the predictable, the safe. All of a sudden it feels like you’re doggy- paddling - desperately trying to stay above water while the tide becomes choppier, unsure of how / when you’ll get to dry land again. Like everything you’d worked so hard to “arrive” at, has dissolved - leaving you only with question marks. What is coming next?
This is when we we slow down and ground into the present moment. When we are here now, we can see everything that is around us; the support, the clues, the encouragement, the reassurance that everything will come back together. Everything will take form again to create something that makes sense. It then just becomes a matter of patiently + curiously observing as the pieces fall into place.
Return to the breath
The breath will always be your guide. The breath will always be your road back home. When we’re in these seasons of transition, lean on the breath. Lean on the certainty of your inhale + exhale. Use your breath as a vehicle to presence + toll road to groundedness. In times of transition - when everything may feel like its in constant flux - rely on the rise + fall of your belly with your breath. Rely on the repetition of the breath into the body and out of the body.
Check out my other blog post: How to Use Your Breath To Transform for more info on how to utilize your breath.
Cultivate gratitude for everything you experienced
Transitions - although uncomfortable at times - are the perfect time to reflect. Instead of grasping onto a future we have decided is the “right” one from here, we instead can re-direct that energy to cultivate gratitude for everything you’ve experienced that led you to exactly where you are now; to an intersection point of change, growth, evolution, and expansion.
Cultivate gratitude for everyone that came into your life + onto your path. Cultivate gratitude for all the lessons you learned along the way. Cultivate gratitude for the version of Self that navigated the adventures, the question marks, the fear, the excitement, and the richness this life has to offer. Instead of anxiously waiting for a specific future, use this transition to metabolize the breadth of your experiences, encounters + endeavors that have led to you to this very moment - to this level of consciousness.
Cultivate excitement for everything that’s to come
Now it’s time to cultivate excitement for what’s coming. However, it’s important here to keep your footing in the present. It’s important here to not become too attached to a certain outcome. Instead, cultivate the feeling of the future you envision. Let yourself marinate in the feeling of your future visions. Then, leave the when + the how up to the choreographed chaos.
At some point, the feeling of transition will subside and you’ll settle into a new routine - an acceptance, understanding + reverence for this season of newness. At some point, you’ll emerge from the cocoon + find safety in the new version of Self and realize there is no metamorphosis in life without a season of transition.
Be intentional about moving in the direction of your visions
Use this time of transition to hone in on your vision. Transitions are gifts in our lives; time to move slowly, observe, reflect, and discern what we truly + authentically desire to create. They’re a time to realign with the visions you have for your life + your Self. In every moment lies another choice - to choose thoughts + beliefs that align with where you want to go.
We get to use these seasons of transitions. We get to choose to flourish as a result of uncertainty. We get to choose to embrace a new, more expanded version of Self as a result of these times. We get to CHOOSE growth + expansion as a result of facing discomfort + moving forward anyways…knowing all the while that what is slowly coming together during these seasons of our lives is conspiring to create the fabric for a mission + story arc far greater than we can possibly conceive.