The Secret to Managing Transitions that Most People Overlook

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Elana Brazile, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

The leaves are bursting with the colors of fall. Brilliant reds, burgundies, golds and oranges exploding on the hills around my home. There is a crispness to the air, even on the warm days of the season. Grey and drizzling overcast skies hide the summer sunshine and heat. And the darkness clings to the earth, staying later each morning and creeping earlier each evening.

Last weekend seeing the light shine from inside my apartment shine on the outside around the edges of my front door, I had a stark reminder of the changing seasons and the prep work I needed to finish before we move too far into fall. It takes so much more energy to keep the house warm when the temperatures drop and the off-again-on-again drizzle turns into a continuous downpour. No sense in using more than I have to.

So I made a quick trip to the local hardware store to buy supplies. I picked up weatherizing strip to seal up the front door. I bought plastic to cover our windows and the large sliding glass door in the kitchen. Once home I locked my two cats and my dog in a bedroom and put up the weatherizing strip. Right now, it is still too warm to seal up the windows, but as the weather turns more consistently cold, I will continue preparing my home for the inevitable transition from fall to winter.

Just like I know this winter is ultimately coming, I know other changes will weave their way into my life. I may not know exactly when. I may have no clue what the specifics of the change will be. But I know that as I move through the days, weeks and months of my life somewhere in there I will go through at least one change.

Working through transition requires a good deal of energy as well. It is harder to find a place of calm. More challenging to focus on what needs to be done next. It’s a process that is exponentially more difficult when we don’t prepare for it.

I know, I know, you’re thinking, “How can I prepare for a big shift in my life when I don’t even know what that shift will be?”

I’m not suggesting we prepare for the specifics of an undetermined situation. I am, however, saying, there are things we can do to “winterize” ourselves for whatever comes our way. Below are a few that come to mind.

- Establish Practices that Help You Center
The turmoil of change can leave you feeling like everything is up in the air. Nothing seems to fit into place any more. And focus is a thing of the past. In moments like these having, a well established ritual to fall back on can be a god-send. While there are many practices that can help, breathing exercises and meditation practices are two excellent tools to help you cope. If they are already a regular part of your life, you will more naturally use them throughout the process.

- Build a Network of Support
There may be times when you need a shoulder to cry on. Someone to give you a pep talk. A friend to hold your hand as you walk through a particularly dark period in your life. When you are struggling to see the sunshine in your life, it is challenging to reach out to people you don’t know and build strong relationships. Building them before a life transition is in full swing helps to add stability to a time in your life that may seem anything but stable.

- Develop Your Own, Individual Interests
Our hobbies and other interests can provide a momentary distractions from those things that stress us. They build positive emotions. They are also helpful in connecting us to others. When we are in less than positive frame of mind, finding things that make us feel good, that shifts our focus from the stresses of our lives is a lot more challenging.

Its far easier to put these in place when your not in the midst of a major change in your life. I would recommend putting as many in place as a consistent part of your life, keeping in mind that depending on the situation you are currently in, not all of them may be possible.