A Key to Leveraging Change is to Frame Transitions As Doorways

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our life as a whole is a transition. Although we are always in transition, it’s easier to recognize the major transitions than the more subtle moment to moment. There are so many: our first day at kindergarten, graduating from high school or college, getting married, getting divorced, getting our first job, losing our first job, becoming a parent and many more. Transitions have a lot to teach us. They’re very revealing.

Transitions are like doorways. When we open the door, we think we know what we’ll find on the other side but we never know for sure. We don’t know with certainty whether we’ll find a friend or foe, an obstacle or an opportunity. When we face such a door, we feel uncertain, vulnerable, exposed. 

Transitions make us uncomfortable, and they are often accompanied by stress or distress but at the same time they open us to new possibilities. During these moments of heightened vulnerability, it’s possible for us to see things freshly. This can be liberating, but it also can be terrifying.

There are many opportunities to work with the experience of change, since every single day is filled with transitions for the most part go unnoticed. All we need to do is PAUSE and notice such transitions while they are happening and pay attention to what comes up.

When we leave our comfort zone and enter unknown territory, what happens then? Do we experience anxiety, restlessness or boredom? If so, how do we deal with it? What is it about this experience uncomfortable? Notice how difficult it is to stay with it. 

When we enter unknown territory, rather than immediately trying to pin things down, we could try pausing and letting things remain undefined for a moment. Even taking that simple step can begin to loosen our habitual fear of the unknown and undefined.

The more we familiarize ourselves with such undefined moments, the more we can learn to relax with the many gaps in our experience. Instead of covering them over (By distracting ourselves) and living in fear, we could make friends with the constant transitions that mark our lives from the beginning to the end, with no interruption whatsoever.

To your greater courage to explore the unknown,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

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