Well, 2023 is starting off with a bang for many people. I see friends, colleagues, and acquaintances experiencing many things from illnesses slowing their roll, to being affected by the many huge companies rolling out the exit with layoffs, to individuals embarking on creating new offerings and options. Yes, I see large-scale change and transformation around every corner.
One thing I know to be true about transitions is that endings are ALWAYS doorways to beginnings. If you are finding yourself at an ending, standing with your foot over the threshold of an uncertain doorway, the best move in that moment is to …. PAUSE! Whether this change is coming by surprise or by your own design, how you leap into that new beginning will guide the tenor and tone of your next journey. So, what should you do during this pause?
Introspection and answering some fundamental questions is what I recommend. Here’s a list of questions to consider:
- What did I learn from the situation that is ending?
- Who would I want to carry with me (as friend, mentor, coach, advisor) as I move into the next something?
- What am I most excited about now that the end is here?
- What do I fear at this juncture? (Remember, you have to name a fear before you can overcome it.)
- What is actually possible now that I’m no longer in that place, circumstance, relationship, etc.
- What have I always longed to try if I had the opportunity and does this opening allow me to explore it?
- What do I need to learn or prepare for my next step?
- Who can I learn from or who can help me as I move forward?
- What do I want (really, really want)?
- What does success look like?
There are many more questions but those are some great thought starters. When you go through this change with purpose, seeking to understand what is going on inside of you, then you can create and adapt. It will be critical for you to align your words with your desires and your steps to both of those. When you start over you get to re-create your story as well. How do you want to be seen? Take your authentic truth and tell THAT story to whoever is getting to know you in this new place.
Yes, it’s true, we cannot always choose the change. However, we can always choose our approach to what is next.
