Moving Through Change Part 1

There is a cycle that people walk through when they are navigating change. I noticed this cycle in my own journey with change, and also with my clients as they move through their seasons of change.

I refer to them as the five stages of change. They are The Event, Emotions, Exploration, Enlightenment, and finally Embrace.

It has been a while since I last posted here. However, in the next few weeks, I’m going to resume regular posts. Throughout October, I’ll be breaking down the change cycle in greater detail. Today, I’m unpacking stage 1, The Event.

The Event is what pops you into the change cycle. The event can be something that happens to you, or it can happen as a result of a choice you make. Sometimes, though, the event happens more quietly.

When change happens to you

In this scenario, change arrives without warning. It’s uninvited, unexpected, and almost entirely out of your control. A decision someone else made. A door that closed. A season that ended before you were ready.

Suddenly, the life you knew feels off-kilter. You’re left trying to make sense of it all while holding space for everything that come with it.

Let me say here that the EVENT is not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it’s a good thing – a marriage, a baby, or a new job. Either way, an event happens to you that changes something, and you are dropped into the change cycle.

When you choose the change

In this scenario, you make a choice that changes things for you. It doesn’t have to be anything major, often, though, it is more noticeable when you choose to make a big change.

I recently decided to move back up to the Northeast after living in the South for 20+ years. As you can imagine, that was a massive change. One that I chose for a variety of reasons. I’ll talk more about this next week, but even though I chose this change, I was still surprised by all that came up for me.

Choosing the change doesn’t mean you avoid the change cycle.

When the event is subtle

Then there are the times when the event is so subtle, you almost miss it. One day everything feels “fine,” and the next… something shifts. It might be a comment, a gut feeling, or something so subtle you can’t explain why it hit you the way it did. But you know something has changed.

This was what happened to me when I made the last big change I made before my move back North. Life had been fine, things were good, I was mostly happy and then one day I wasn’t.

I could never pinpoint exactly when it happened. All I know is that one day it became startlingly clear that something HAD to change in my life. That subtle shift led to my leaving the organization I had helped start, where I was third in command.

To say it was a big change would be understatement. However, it all started with a subtle shift I could not quite put into words.

A Crossroad

Next week, I’ll talk more about Stage 2, The Emotions. For now, if you’re standing at the edge of a crossroads in your life. Either someone else’s choice has put you there, or life has landed you there, I’ve created a free guide to help you move through change in a way that honors your process. Click here to download it.  

And if you’d like support as you try to figure out your next steps, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a free call with me to discuss what a path forward might look like for you. There’s no obligation, just a chance for us to connect. Schedule your call today.

Cheering you on,