Lost in Transition

The dust finally feels as though it is settling, routines are starting to unfold, and you have begun to recognize your life again. The only problem is that you do not actually recognize your life. In the midst of upheaval, it has somehow changed. Your environment, your goals, the people you surround yourself with – it all seems different. You feel different.

Transitions, or life phases, are constant and sometimes happen so gradually we don’t even fully recognize the shift until it has fully happened. Sometimes we feel it so intensely we wonder if we will ever feel a sense of harmony. Whether the transition be fluid or rocky one thing is for certain, it comes loaded with a variety of emotion. With every new beginning comes the loss of what we thought we knew about ourselves and the world. Moving from one moment to another challenges our perception and has the propensity to create self-doubt and perpetual fatigue.

“It feels like it is always one thing after another”. A phrase so many of us have uttered, and the reality is that life is one thing after another. A series of events that we learn to navigate by negotiating with our future selves (and sometimes a higher being). The tools we use to navigate the transition has baring on how well we move through to the other side of the shift. Goals, values, and traditions create pathways for traveling through the forest of emotion that comes with life events such as death, birth, divorce, careers, or just age.

Humans have existed for roughly 6 million years; we are a species of resiliency. We have the ability to endure as much stress as we believe we can, which is why understanding your values and personal beliefs is critical to facing life’s enduring challenges. When you decide what you are about, and why it is important to you and your family, you are able to forge forward and perceive transitions as a period of growth AND loss. You are able to sit with the strong emotions versus fighting the inevitable.

We are living in an era of cultural metamorphosis, where new ideas and principles are consistently being conveyed and introduced. While this can create a great movement of inclusion and compassion for one another, it can also leave you feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed. Incorporating your values in your personal life and an ever-changing environment might come in the form of observation, objectivity, and openness.

Observing what is taking place in your personal life, professional world, and environment. Looking at the situation objectively, without bias, and attempting to understand from multiple perspectives. And finally, being open that your emotions and feeling can exist while simultaneously contradicting themselves.

Transition is constant; approaching the upheavals of life with a sense of yourself and who you desire allows for growth and actualization.