Change Is In The Air: 7 Tips for Smooth Transitions
The past two weeks have reminded me:
The only thing that is constant is change.
Just when everything was going so stinking well and we were FINALLY moving we packed up our one bedroom apartment and drove down the coast from San Jose to Carlsbad in search of our new home and I sunk into the most miserable place I had been in a long time. I’d been eagerly anticipating this move to sunny SoCal since I got back from Bali in November. Knowing that I was going to be able to leave Silicon Valley and all of its traffic and all of its collective stress and reclusiveness was keeping me sane and upbeat even after days and days of packing. When we finally arrived it was as if the little worker bee who’d been running a marathon inside of me to hold everything together finally collapsed.
I was completely exhausted and disinterested in everything I cared about, I got down on myself and, eventually, I got sick.
As I look back at what happened in the course of the past two weeks I can see that I prepared my stuff for the move but what I didn’t prepare my body or mind for the change. The larger part of me thought that I would run on fumes to get everything done, get to Carlsbad, keep up with everything I had in the works, immediately take action on new ideas locally and not miss a beat. What I wasn’t prepared for was the newness, the unfamiliarity, the process that is learning a new place and actually, physically dealing with our stuff to set up our new home.
Now it’s plain to see how utterly delusional I was when I imagined what this move would be like and because of that I’ve made a list of things I wish I would have known before the move that help to smooth out the transition period when a big change is happening and you’re in the middle of it.
Things always, ALWAYS take longer than you expect, consider how long you think it will take to make the change and then double the time.
This helps to align your expectations with reality and keeps you from making yourself crazy for no reason.
Create a short morning & evening routine for yourself to keep something constant when everything around you is changing.
They can be really short - mine were only about 15 minutes long but knowing what to do at the start and end of the day made such a huge difference.
Meditate daily!
Nuff said.
Use grounding essential oils - especially on the soles of your feet and in the diffuser.
doTERRA’s Balance, Black Spruce, Cypress & Frankincense were ones I turned to a bunch that brougt me a sense of calm and everything-is-fine even when there were boxes and stuff everywhere. doTERRA’s cilantro oil is also a wonderful oil to sniff if you’re going through a rough patch of change because it helps us accept life’s ebbs and flows with more ease.
Get your bare feet on the earth.
Its one of the most grounding, stabilizing things you can do.
Be kinder and more patient with yourself than you are when things are realitively constant.
It is so easy to be in the moment during a big life change and think, “Get a grip! This is NO BIG DEAL, why are you being so strange?” When in reality whatever you’re going through is a big deal to you. Everyone handles change differently and it’s totally NORMAL and okay for change to rock your world so please be nice to yourself if it is.
Remember, change is constant and THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
If you’re going through hell with a change in your life KEEP GOING. It’s always a huge relief to me to remember that this too shall pass.
If you have tips for those of us going through big life changes, drop them in the comments below!
I’m excited to get your input on thriving through the sometimes uncomforatable times of change that life has to offer.