If I asked you today over tea and chocolate cake or better still green juice and a delicious Mediterranean salad, "Where are you in your life right now?" what would be your first answer?
Would you shy away from speaking up or declare your truth and tell your story in all its rawness and beauty?
As women many of us are going through seismic change. Deep, deep shifts that are happening in our personal and business lives as well as on a metaphysical and cellular level.
Everything is altering. The metaphor that springs to mind and most perfectly captures this profound sense of evolution is that of the caterpillar transforming into an exquisitely beautiful butterfly.
We are shedding Goddesses. We are outgrowing our old "skins." We are metaphorically and literally "peeling away" years and years of layers and flushing out all the toxic debris. We are discarding our "masks," our falseness and emerging from our safe, yet restrictive cocoons. We are finding ourselves feeling restless with an undying urge to stretch, flutter and search for a new haven where we can safely change, renew, and transform ourselves.
More than anything we're no longer content to play small or do small and expect the minimum. We are ready to start embracing a much bigger and more expansive reality and version of ourselves where we happily squeeze the juice out of every, single drop of life.
Do we feel fearful at times, you betcha! Are we frequently terrified? (More than we care to admit!) Yet we are full of wanderlust too. We fervently ask the same questions: "What is going to happen?" "Am I going to be all right?" and "What will this new place and space and life BE and FEEL and LOOK like?"
For many of us though, big life changes and the process of metamorphosis just straight up sucks, causing us to avoid the ever so popular question, "What do I do?" It sucks because it seems like you had your life or your "grand plan" all figured out and everything felt settled. Then BAM! In a matter of moments (or weeks or months) your whole world changed. Irrevocably.
Right now you may be feeling devastated, frightened, frustrated, confused even -- bogged down in a quagmire of never-ending uncertainty. You may just wish you could hide away somewhere cozy and hibernate until everything has passed. You may not be taking any action at all because you can't imagine transitioning to a life that feels joyful, juicy, easy, expansive and connected.
Whether you're on the verge of changing from being stuck in a rut to setting up your dream business or being married to being a vibrant and free single woman, it's spelled TRANSITION. That moment in time and state of being when you're passing from one stage to another and while it can be hugely potent and liberating, it can be overwhelming and deeply scary too.
If you can't seem to wrap your head around point A (where you're at now) to point B (where you want to be) and feel stuck, here are some simple, practical tips to help you transition with more ease, clarity and joy.
5 Tips For Transitioning Through Major Change
1. Create A Calming Daily Ritual. Begin a daily practice to help ground and center you. I find it's best to do this as soon as you wake up or just after eating breakfast. This can be anything, from walking in nature to a daily prayer/mediation to yoga, Pilates, swimming or a leisurely jog. What's important is the consistent practicing of the ritual. It's about making space and time to do this day in, day out, no matter what's going on or how lousy you feel. This daily "me time" will calm you mind, positively shift your emotional state and energize your endorphins (your happy hormones).
2. Focus, Focus, Focus. Focus on ONE key goal. Put 100 percent of your attention and heart into completing this one thing, rather than spending 20 percent trying to do everything. Set clear intentions around it. Yes, you will need to be courageous. Yes, you may well have to be patient (good things sometimes take a while to manifest). Keep visioning the outcome you desire and it WILL happen!
3. Go With Your Gut. It's time to ramp up your innate feminine intuition and use it to help you make the right choices and decisions. Watch for synchronicities, gorgeous winks from the Universe and those "guardian angels" you suddenly meet out of the blue that let you know you're on the right path. You WILL know when things are right or off kilter. Go with your gut!
4. Get Connected. Find a community of gutsy, authentic, ambitious women who support and uplift you. Who will gather round the proverbial "campfire" with you, create a safe space, act as a witness to your desires and support you as you move forward. These can be girlfriends that already know you well or a completely new group of like-minded, big-hearted soul sisters.
5. Get More Sleep. Exquisite self-care is essential to help you get through a period of profound change and the No .1 priority should be to get more SLEEP. When you get a good night's sleep and feel fully rested and refreshed you can think more deeply, clearly and productively and make better decisions. Forget the jam-packed schedule and going full out. It's time to treat yourself with the utmost care, love and tenderness.
I would love to hear about your experiences of transitioning through major change. What leaps of faith are you making right now? What do you struggle with most? What rituals or techniques help you succeed and keep going?