Transitions: Moving Through Change With Grace

MOVING THROUGH CHANGE

Creating any major change in our lives can also create feelings of discomfort. Tiredness, confusion, and uncertainty are among the many emotions that can be experienced. Moving from one way of doing things to another requires a transitional period. The transition is the middle ground that is required for evolution to occur. It's the place between where you were and where you are going. Usually this middle ground feels unpaved, unstable, lopsided, jagged, and stony. We stumble along with unsure footing wondering if we will ever feel confident again. Our transformation depends on trusting the road will eventually smooth out. Trusting that we are safe even in the midst of change, in the darkness of uncertainty.

I certainly don't have all the answers for how to proceed through change. But my life experiences continue to teach me that change is growth, change is empowerment, and change is life itself. I continue to realize how to embody the process of change with joy even as fear and confusion are present. The strategies below are steps I take to help ground me when I'm scared during a period of transition. Maybe these strategies can also give you a few ideas that can provide firmer footing to navigate a solid path towards your future possibilities.

ACCEPTANCE

Take a moment breathe deeply. Realize you accepted this transition. No one forced you to change or can force you to complete the change. Although it may not be an easy journey, trust that you will be much better off on the other side. Verbally acknowledge and accept the journey that you determined for yourself. You could say something like, "Universe, I am now ready to accept this journey." Doing this invokes your personal power to successfully achieve your outcome. Now is the time to open your heart energy and ask, "Universe, how are you going to support me in this?"

GRACE

You may feel uncertain while in transition. Here is a question for you - Are you going to curl up, continue to pretend you are powerless (can't have what you want), and desperately seek someone to rescue you from the middle of the road? Or are you going to gather up all your courage and gracefully walk on your own two feet? Two very different ways to experience the moment. It's okay to stumble and fall, we all do it. It's even okay to lie there in the dirt for awhile. We all run our own stories and everyone has had the experience of a temporary pity party. Or as my friend called it the other day - I was on my 'weepy wagon'. She said it was okay. However, she wasn't going to get in and join me in my weepy wagon of self pity. Instead, she would stay with me and pull the handle until I was ready to get out. It was a weepy wagon of old lies and untruths. I'm walking again - much stronger for having fallen.

CHOOSE FAITH

"Feed your faith, not your fears." Everyday I look at this quote taped to my computer screen. There are only two choices. The greater our fear, the tighter our grip. Do a reality check. Is it time to let go and move into the experience? You will most likely have to move forward while still feeling fear rather than waiting for the fear to pass. Eleanor Roosevelt eloquently stated, "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I've lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

GET SUPPORT

For each of us, we must walk our own path. No one can save us from this journey. No one can pick us up and drop us off on the other side. The journey itself is what offers strength, insight, and wisdom. So we must walk our own road - but that doesn't mean we can't bring some friends along to walk with us for awhile. Meet with a nutrition therapist, coach, friend, or advisor on a regular basis to keep you grounded. These people can help you though the periods of self-doubt and instability. We all need someone to lean on and support us through the bumpy parts.

WORDS ARE POWER

Be acutely aware of the words you use. Do they empower you or leave you feeling powerless? Observe your spoken language and the self talk in your head. Is it positive or negative? Is it detrimental or helpful? Is it rooted in fear or love? Does it stay centered in the present moment? Positive, self-affirming, resourceful, and loving language - spoken or thought - is what allows us to make the journey. Look into your own eyes in the mirror and support your journey.

TAKE A RISK

Change requires us to move from our smaller, confined circle of comfort to one that is larger and more expansive. The edges of the smaller comfort zone need to be faced. Like Columbus sailing off to explore the edge of the ocean, you too are exploring unknown (and feared unsafe) new territory. Choose what feels right for you to safely feel the stretch of growth. Ask yourself each week, "What risk have I taken?" "What success have I experienced?" Make it okay to be a beginner again. It's how we grow and transform. You will inspire others and find strengths you never knew you had.

CREATE A RITUAL TO HONOR THE CHANGE

Take the time to symbolically acknowledge the journey you are on. It is a stage of growth, new learning's, and a new attitude. A ritual can be anything metaphorical that has meaning to you. Perhaps it might be setting something free, cleaning your closet, throwing out your diet books, a celebration of the journey with friends, or even listing all the things that have been holding you back upon little strips of paper and burning them. Take physical action in your life to acknowledge the path you are moving along and to open up to new possibilities that await you just around the corner. Simple daily rituals that nurture your soul will respect the transition that you are in. A ritual may help you close a door that needs to be closed. Honor what has come before, learn from it, and let it go. Acknowledge the present, and give thanks for your future. Receive support from your higher self.

EXERCISE

TRANSITIONAL OBJECT

It might help to carry with you a transitional object that reminds you of your success so far, and helps keeps your vision on your overall goal. The object could be something you touch that reminds you of your journey. Or it could be an item that provides comfort. Think of a baby holding onto a teddy bear or a favorite blanket. Or the function of rosary beads. Link your sense of touch to the feeling of success. Touch, stroke, or handle your item with each small (or large) sense of achievement. Then when you gain strength to go on, touching your object again will remind you of your goal. Here's a list of potential transitional objects you could easily carry in your pocket or on your body:

Small smooth stone

Crystal

Special necklace

Ring for your finger

Sea shell

Symbolic lapel pin

Copyright 2005, Dr. Annette Colby, all rights reserved.

Dr. Annette Colby, RD
Nutrition Therapist & Master Energy Healer
Annette@AnnetteColby.com 972.985.8750

"Opening Creative Portals to Success"

For free inspirational newsletter, articles & info visit: http://www.LovingMiracles.com

---

Drop and Gimme Ten!

Every one of us have dreams, desires and goals that we put on the shelf. In front of them are a litany of excuses -- but not... Read More

How to Crack a Daunting Task!

If you have a daunting task and the mere thought of it overwhelms you, it's probably too big to implement directly and should be broken down into... Read More

Choosing The Right Coach

Coaching has become a very popular way for people to get the ongoing support they need to accomplish their goals. However, choosing a coach can be tricky.... Read More

Top Ten Tips for Living Authentically

1. Know your purposeAre you wandering through life with little direction ? hoping that you'll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement... Read More

Successful Implementation of Company Wide Coaching Programmes

Ten years ago I was fortunate enough to be heavily involved in the implementation of a company wide coaching programme, both as an employee who was to... Read More

The Joy of Learning!

"Part of what motivates me to write this book is a concern that we've lost touch in education with the sheer joy of what it means to... Read More

D.I.S.C.I.P.L.I.N.E.

What does this word really mean anyway? According to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition, discipline, as a noun, is defined primarily as punishment. My, but that has... Read More

Stay Connected To WHY You Are Doing Things

"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." Richard BachThis quote was shared with me by a fellow coach & colleague.... Read More

Discovering Your Passion and Purpose

"I can't seem to discover why I'm on the planet.""What is my purpose here? I know there's something I'm supposed to be doing, but I don't know... Read More

Voice Care for Coaches

Coaches rely heavily on their voice to service clients. If you also give teleclasses or workshops, voice maintenance needs to be one of their top self-care priorities.... Read More

More Money & Less Stress?

At 2pm last Wednesday, I got a call from one of my clients. Before I could barely utter my "hello," she launched headlong into her story -... Read More

How to Quickly and Easily Deal With Rude People

Where I live there seems to be a a growing population of rude and vulgar people. And no matter how hard I wish for things to change... Read More

Become More Self-Confident

Signs of Self-ConfidenceLet's explore the meaning of self-confidence by taking a quiz. Read the list of statements below and check which ones, in your opinion, are signs... Read More

Curbing the Public Nuisance (Part 1)

He's been around since the dawn of humanity. His profession is even older than the world's oldest profession. He's been loathed and reviled by politicians, bureaucrats and... Read More

What is Coaching?

Recently, I have received several emails asking me about coaching and what it is exactly. So, I decided to answer some of those questions in this article.... Read More

Worth Waiting For

Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 22, 2002I am a 31-year-old virgin male. At times I feel sexually frustrated because I've never been intimate... Read More

Tips for Writing Great Coaching E-Books

Never understimate the power of a well-written word. Tens of thousands of readers of coaching ebooks have had their lives changed for the better by a well... Read More

Walt Disney, the Inspiration to Form a Better Life?

You, like many others, may have come to this article because you want more from life. In this sense, you and I may be alike because we're... Read More

Not Blind, Just No Vision

Helen Keller once remarked that there was one thing she knew of that was worse than being blind; it was to be able to see but have... Read More

Controlling Behavior, Loving Behavior

When Zack and Tiffany started counseling with me, they were on the verge of divorce after 16 years of marriage. Neither really wanted to end the marriage,... Read More

How to Solve Disputes with the Helicopter Talk Technique

Do you ever find that when a friend asks for your opinion on a problem it is a lot easier for you to see a solution than... Read More

Personal Life Coaching And How It Can Help You

Coaching is an effective process used to support individuals in creating something new for themselves. I work side by side with my clients' coaching them by providing... Read More

Why Things Are The Way They Are

Things are the way you think they are, because you think they are that way. An interesting statement I know, but let's break it down a bit... Read More

How Does Sports Coaching Differ from Corporate Coaching?

Athletes Versus EmployeesMost athletes are young, open to improvement, eager to learn and anxious to receive what a coach can provide. For the athlete, there is a... Read More

Think, Pause & Talk

There are two kinds of peoples we generally face in every walk of life1] who talks negative and excessive and2] who talks whenever required or talks right... Read More

Belief Management - The Missing Ingredient?

"Joan, I'm working so hard and I'm not getting anything done!" I have heard some version of this cry of frustration by many an entrepreneur. It's a... Read More