How do you find your way to a new beginning? Change and transition may be an exciting challenge for some, or a fearful journey for ohers. What do you bring of yourself into the process?
We all develop our approach to change through the personal lens of who we are and how we integrate life experiences into our emotional core. If you are prone to being either a procrastinator or efficient, organized or disorganized, a realist or a denier, you will apply these traits to how you tackle change.
Carol, a 45 year old woman, is planning a major career change. After years in the corporate world, she has decided to take a leap into starting her own business. Her approach to change is analytical and deliberate. She will research, gather her facts and plan her move. While she counts on her efficiency and organization, she may close herself off to her feelings of loss, uncertainty and overwhelm.
Eve is also planning a career change. She is the same age as Carol. However, Eve has always been a disorganized person who is given to procrastinating. She has a hard time trusting her decision making. Eve may enter the emotional world of guilt, shame and blame over not finding her way.
In knowing their patterns and where they might be coming from, they can meet them head on. Carol and Eve can both acknowledge how they approach transitions and make conscious decisions on what is helpful to them and what is not.
Carol may need to let herself feel her emotions and learn that what she is feeling is just as importants as what she is doing. When Carol gives herself permission to feel and not judge herself, she can free herself from bottling up what is inside.
Eve can learn much from discovering where her guilt, shame and blame come from. She can challenge those limiting self-beliefs and replace them with positive thoughts about herself. She can make a conscious decision to work on small changes in her disorganization and procrastination.
Do you know your patterns? Think about how they may be a stepping stone to your transition or a roadblock. How can you use what you know about yourself and your patterns to guide you successfully in whatever changes you are facing?