“Just get through it” has been my mantra for the past few months. I’ve been viewing this season as one to endure before crossing over and transitioning into my next era. This season of life has felt like something to endure rather than to live. It’s just something I have to do before I get to the main event.

Transition with Intention

Last week, I heard a woman say something that stayed with me. She was giving someone else advice and said, “Transition with intention; don’t just go through the motions until you get to the next step, because your transition will set the foundation for the next step.”

Build the Foundation and the Capacity

Last week I talked about building my capacity for the next era of my life. I’ve been challenging myself and working harder than I have in years, and it’s rebuilding my abilities and capabilities for what’s next.

The last six years have been ROUGH, and admittedly I have fallen off in many ways, but with each challenge I feel the old muscle memory coming back for what it means to grow and improve myself. I remember what it was like to push myself harder, show up, and seek out those who inspire me and help to fuel my improvement.

This Prep Season and the habits I’ve developed during it are the foundation for the next leg of the journey. Early mornings, tough workouts, intellectually challenging work, and doing the “extra credit” are all habits that need to lock in before we get to the next place.

 

“The Void” or The Liminal Space

The space in between seasons is the hardest because it’s the place where people either try to force their way ahead or they give up and decide they’re going to settle where they are. I am more prone to be part of the group that wants to force her way ahead, but I’ve learned that timing is everything.

If you asked me last year, then I would have told you that I was ready to make the move to the next level because I was over my current circumstances.

  • I knew my environment needed to change
  • I knew the people around me needed to change
  • I knew my mindset needed to change

I thought all of this would change when I got to where I was going, but now I know that my environment, the people around me, and my mindset had to change before I even got to the next place.

I’ve said it over and over again that the biggest change this year has been the people, and that’s key to my environment changing. I’ve heard others say this, and I know it’s true for me. During COVID and the subsequent fallout, many of us chose social interactions based on convenience and proximity rather than genuine connection and enjoyment.

I think so many of us feel lonely and isolated because we’d rather stay home and watch Netflix than be around people we don’t really like, just because they’re close and convenient. After talking to my real friends and being around people I enjoy, I can see why I’d rather be alone. Nothing beats genuine connection, and I’d rather be at home than endure unsatisfying social interactions just because I’m bored.

In the void, I have rediscovered so many of the relationships and connections that keep me grounded and that I want to invest in.

These are the ones that will ride with me on the next leg of the journey. Being without them these last several years taught me not to take them for granted.

Everything is changing because everything eventually changes 

I no longer feel stuck because I can see the light, and I have a plan. Parts of my life are phasing out organically as I knew they would, and I’m allowing them to because I know it’s time to move on.

I started thinking that everything in my life is changing. One day soon, I’m going to be wishing for the days when life was so slow and dull.

Everything is changing because everything eventually changes.

Otherwise, there is no growth or development.

I’m still looking ahead to the future, but I’m also staying grounded in the present and meeting the transition with intention.

The next chapter depends on it.