The Process of Navigating Change
The thing that seems most true for our times is that change is constant. From the advances in technology, to shifting political landscapes, to how our jobs are performed, to the climate of the earth… It can be really disorienting to figure out how to navigate in a constantly changing world.
And most of our systems and institutions that we rely upon haven’t caught up yet. Our educational system, jobs structures, politics, and even the perception of our own bodies are set up on models that assume stability.
How do we cope? How do we take the steps down a road that’s disappearing before our eyes?
This is the point when it comes to life coaching. It’s not telling you how to live your life based upon some prescribed fixed model, but it provides tools for navigating change itself.
It’s the difference between, on the one hand, hunkering down and hiding in a hut as a tsumani comes. (It’ll wash you away with everything else), and on the other hand, learning to surf that wave (Sure it’s scary, and feels out of control, but you’ll stay afloat… and you might even enjoy the ride.)…
How do we learn to surf the waves of change?
It helps to understand that we tend to move through change in stages.
The first stage is a catalytic event - meaning something happens- which is the change itself or some elements come together which make change imminent. In other words, things have shifted and gone from a seemingly stable place, to one where the ball is rolling and life isn’t the same as it was. (This can be a small thing such as your personal preference shifting for a new morning routine, or a large natural disaster occurs that changes life as you know it.). This first stage is often a death of the old way. If you think of it as a cycle, it’s akin to the season of Autumn.
The second stage is one of going inward and retreating from normal life. It’s a time of reimagining and reorganizing one’s life and worldview to invent a new way. In terms of nature, it’s where a caterpillar dissolves its old body within the cocoon and begins to reform into something else. Also, it’s akin to winter where a tree’s resources go underground to its roots.
The third stage is one of emergence as something new. This is where decisions have been made, a path has been set, and steps are being taken toward a new vision. But this is also like the Hero’s Journey - often beset with setbacks, trials, obstacles, and struggles. In nature it is the process of a butterfly emerging from the cocoon (Fun fact: the struggle the butterfly undergoes to break free from the cocoon is what develops its strength to fly and thrive outside). As a season it would be Spring.
The Fourth stage is living in the new. This stage is asking you to be fully engaged living in this phase of life. The butterfly now flies instead of crawls. Summer is in full bloom. The Hero has returned home… However, the trap is becoming too attached to this phase of the cycle. This is often where we become very resistant to change, and that very resistance can be a deeper cause of suffering than the actual change itself that is surely coming around the corner.
Change is coming, and in today’s world, the cycles of change are moving faster than before. Knowing where you are in this cycle can help you navigate how to cope, to decide what to do next, as well as give you peace of mind in the process.
I’ll go a little more in depth into the four stages over the next few posts. So stay tuned…
And if you could use someone in your corner to help with navigating this cycle of change, consider signing up for a free consultation. We’ll talk about your current issues and goals and if my coaching program is a right fit for you, I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about it.