Life transitions & transformations can be so difficult and you may feel overwhelmed and anxious, wondering how to survive. During transitions, we are forced to change and deal with intense emotions and may need a few good coping skills.
This article includes tips on how to manage & thrive through difficult life transitions. This can be a time of renewal, purpose, and hope.
Read more about how to transform and have a 2nd chance to create a meaningful life.
Disclaimer: This article has educational resources about restoring wellness through trauma recovery, and is based on my research and my experiences. This information is not meant to take the place of medical treatment, counseling or therapy. If it would be helpful to talk to someone, wellness resources has information on how to contact a mental health professional in your area.
In this article:
How to Transform through Life’s Transitions:
- Transitions & Transformations: Problems or Opportunities?
- 2nd Chance Transformations
- Your Time, Your Choice
- 4 Stages of Transformation
- Beginning of a New Season
- New Development in Mind-Body-Spirit
- Shedding Old Ways & Cleaning Out the Old Stuff
- Create an Intentional Life Full of Meaning
- Transitions & Transformations: Messy and Beautiful
- 3 Tips for an Easier Transitions & Transformations
- Bonus: Life Seasons & Transitions
Transitions & Transformations: Problems or Opportunities?
Do you feel stuck in a transition, like this new season was suddenly dropped on you?
Transitions can feel overwhelming and throw us off our familiar routines!! If that’s not enough, Transitions can also be hard on relationships with those we care about, making our entire life feel upside down.
Wait, does it have to be that way? Transitions don’t have to be all bad… we actually have an opportunity to Transform & improve for the better!
WHAT?? You may ask…
2nd Chances: Transitions & Transformations
When Transitions happen, we have an opportunity to transform into who we want to be.
Transitions can be intended and then other transitions just happen without time to prepare.
Intentional Transformation
So, even after an Un-Intentional Transformation, there is still an opportunity to Intentionally Transform & grow into who you want to be.
Intentional Transformation can be helpful & healthy, an opportunity to grow and develop, a chance to live a life that is amazing and meaningful!!
I am intentionally choosing to transform versus transformation happening to me unintentionally!!
Will you choose to embrace your transformation?
Your Time, Your Choice
You have a choice on how you will respond to the transition.
This is your time! This is your choice!
You can intentionally choose to transform for the better.
That’s what I want to do, live a transformational life of deep meaning and help others do the same.
How do you transition & transform for the better?
4 Stages of Transformation
Let’s understand what the 4 Stages of Transformation are first.
I love the idea of transformation, the beauty of new beginnings and 2nd chances.
Examples of Transformation
Examples of transformation in nature and entertainment are in this article: Year of Transformation: Hope, Butterflies, and Trauma Recovery
Difficult Transitions
But in reality, transitions can be difficult when we’re in the middle of it, messy and muddled. To bounce back quicker and better, sometimes it helps to have guidance seeing the bigger picture and knowing we are not alone.
From life experience and from a little research, I summarize Transformation into 4 stages.
How to Manage & Thrive through Difficult Life Seasons.
Stage 1: Beginning of a new season
The beginning and infancy of a new season, new life, new beginning can be so …
- scary and unsure
- exciting and joyful
- many emotions, ups and downs
New seasons take lots of energy!
There are so many things to learn in this new season, so there will be a big learning curve. The more you learn, the more you’ll need to rest and rejuvenate. Learning takes a lot of energy!
It’s the time absorb knowledge around you from mentors, teachers, and those who have gone ahead of you on the journey.
The more flexible you can be at this stage, the better you will embrace the changes happening.
Yet, many times I don’t even know it’s a new season until I’m in the middle of it, like in stage 2.
Stage 2: New development in Mind-Body-Spirit
Personal, physical, and spiritual development are just a few ways to grow during transformations.
In the middle of transitions, there are so many opportunities for personal growth and development. This 2nd stage is the development stage of life-giving resources.
The more life-giving resources you have when transitioning, the easier time you’ll have with change and transformation.
Life-Giving Resources:
First of all, what is life-giving?
Life-giving resources are anything that give you life, brings you joy, helps you feel better. This can include:
- people who help you be the best version of you
- places that help rejuvenate you when you visit
- activities that make you smile
- things that give you positive energy
Develop Life-Giving Resources
So, how do you develop life-giving resources? Consider what resources give you life, vs. drain energy from you. Now, think about how you can develop more life-giving resources.
- Personal development includes
- developing self-identity, friendships, self-confidence.
- Physical development includes
- developing physical goals, limitations, and awareness of health.
- Spiritual development includes:
- forming a sense of a higher being, a higher purpose, and a higher intention in daily life.
Want more help developing Life-Giving Resources?
Check out the FREE Worksheet –> Personal Growth: Life Seasons & Transitions
Stage 3: Shedding old ways
This 3rd stage is an uncomfortable stage of transformation, yet necessary and vital for the complete cycle of personal growth. So, let me share how I practice this stage intentionally.
The idea of shedding old ways is not really a positive image to me. I first think of the snake shedding his skin. WAIT, don’t run… there’s a better image than that…
A tree shedding it’s leaves…
The key for me is to remind myself of the natural image of a tree shedding it’s leaves during a fall season.
The tree has to shed it’s leaves to hibernate for winter, and to to get ready for spring. There is hope around the corner… spring is coming.
Seedling –> tree –> shedding leaves –> flowers
I need to allow the shedding of the old ways that are no longer helpful, to have room to accept the new ways that are way more helpful and healing.
Beautiful growth
Create –> Grow –> Beauty
Comfort fills me when I consider the tree sheds to hibernate and then to Grow. As long as I remember that there will be a Beautiful growth as the goal, it will help me shed the old ways.
This is all part of a cycle, with each stage having it’s own season:
Stage 4: Live an Intentional Life
Create new ways to live an Intentional Life full of meaning
Ah, to breathe in new life is so beautiful and so hopeful.
The stage is worth every minute of the struggle, the pain, and the growth challenges of the first 3 stages.
Stage 4 is worth the wait!
Well, because now, you have a choice on how you respond.
You get to choose how you want to live!
Living an Intentional Life full of meaning
Stage 4 is all about your choices, your voice, your time!
What is Intentional Transformation?
First, Transformation is …
- A thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance. A time for renewing, revision, reshaping.
- Metamorphosis = A time of transfiguration, conversion, changing.
- Induced or spontaneous of one element into another by a significant process
- A time of shifting, adaptation, adjustment, modification.
- A season of diversity, innovation, reconstruction, revision.
- A time of transition, development, progress, and regeneration.
Now, Intentional means…Done on purpose, deliberate, intended, considered, studied, purposeful, willful.
In conclusion, Intentional Transformation means…
Deliberately and willfully renewing and reshaping a part of your life into another significant form.
How can you transform?
- You have a choice to deliberately and willfully transform.
- Choose a part of your life that you want to renew and reshape in a significant way.
Need help? Here are helpful tips that can help you on your journey to live a life full of meaning.
- Check out the FREE Worksheet –> Personal Growth: Life Seasons & Transitions
- Read the 3 Tips for an Easier Transformation
- Understand more about the messy & beautiful transitions & transformations.
Transitions & Transformations: Messy and Beautiful
Transitions & Transformation can be messy, but oh so worth beautiful.
Beginning, Middle & End of Transitions
Beginning of Transitions & Transformations
At first, it can feel uncomfortable and awkward. Shifts can begin to happen inside, a shift in values, beliefs, expectations, and perspectives.
There are times it may be hard to figure out what is going on in life, when things feel different.
Whoa, that’s a lot of shifting going on, right? At times, it feels like a big earthquake, and can seem shaky and scary.
Remember, to grow into a butterfly, you have to be willing to get messy and go into that chrysalis (like a cocoon).
Middle of Transitions & Transformations
During this time, you may be wandering around trying to find your way, not sure of what is happening really. It can be lonely and sad.
This can be a confusing time and it may be helpful to find a friend to walk with you on this part of the journey. The key is finding the right person to support you.
Keep in mind, this is the time to shed old ways to make way for new & more helpful ways.
So, if you’re not finding support, search for a group of encouragers online or visit your local church or support group.
End of Transitions & Transformations
You’re almost to the end, don’t give up yet!! This is the hardest part because you’re probably exhausted and wondering what happens now.
Well, this is the time to create your new path for what’s important to you.
Take time to brainstorm what brings you Joy:
- what’s important to you
- become who you want to be
- intentionally life a life full of meaning
What Brings You Joy
New article coming soon … What Brings You Joy: Transformations learned from KonMori Method & Marie Kondo
3 Tips for Easier Transitions and Transformations
Yep, change is hard for many of us. So, it can be helpful to have guidance from a friend to help you along the way.
Here’s a little guidance, I hope it is helpful.
3 helpful tips
These are 3 helpful tips to help your transition & transformation be a little easier. This is from my own experiences and research from clients and other personal growth experts.
#1 tip: Connect with others.
First, we need support and connections with others, without it we literally don’t thrive or live as long.
Seriously, people who have little to no friendships live a shorter lifespan. Research even states that people with few close friendships don’t thrive or meet their goals as well.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Helen Keller
So, let’s get out there and invest in healthy, life-giving relationships!
Share with a friend how you are struggling and ask your friend to support you. As they support you, you may feel stronger and be able to handle your transition easier.
Studies show:
- You can live longer when you are in relationships with other people
- You can thrive and you are more likely to meet your goals in relationship with people
#2 tip: Accept and embrace change
Acceptance is key to being able to transform and grow.
Without acceptance, we just fight it and struggle more. I talk more about Embracing vs. Fighting Transformation in this article: Year of Transformation: Hope, Butterflies, and Trauma Recovery
Here’s a few helpful ways to accept and embrace change:
- Try to accept each day and each moment as it happens.
One day at a time is usually enough to handle during times of change.
- Try to see the transition from another perspective.
Ask a trusted friend how they would handle this transition if they were experiencing it. You don’t have to adopt the same perspective, sometimes it can help just to see from another perspective.
- Think of the bigger picture.
How will this change effect your life long-term? Is there hope that things could improve?
Tip #3: Go with the flow & be flexible.
As life changes, be willing to go with the flow. Being flexible may sound easy, but it’s literally something we need to practice doing. That’s how it gets easier, practice being flexible in mind-body-spirit.
Is there one thing you could do,
to help this transition be easier for you?
Usually, we fight change. So, if you were working alongside change, how could you make your life a littler easier?
Choosing Transformation for the Better
This changes everything, because you get to choose how you transform this time! You get to intentionally choose!
BONUS: Life Seasons & Transitions
Helpful?
I hope this info is helpful for you on your life journey. If so, please share it with a friend and let us know how it has been the most helpful.
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Blessings,
Beth
Need help finding a counselor?
If you need someone to help to talk to, counselors and mental health professionals can help provide support resources on:
- time management
- stress management
- procrastination
- relaxation skills
- goal setting
- personal development
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