Last week, I found myself coaching a client who had just experienced a major shift and life change. The emotions after such an occurrence can be some of the hardest combinations to handle, particularly when one is used to a high degree of control over their destiny. As we’ve all come to know as adults, there are some things which we simply cannot plan or prepare for, but that in itself does not keep us from feeling like strangers to ourselves when something goes terribly wrong. We forget the exact things we know, who we are exactly and the world and our place in it seems alien.
Maybe the easiest analogy I can think of is the change of seasons I have known since I was a child growing up in New England. I knew each year there would be small yellow and purple flowers in our backyard in April, and that the trees would start to turn amazing shades in late August. Despite this knowledge, and to this day each season, I am caught in amazement at the reemergence of overwhelming green and warmth in the air, or the briskness of a calm winter night in early winter. What some might dismiss as a standard part of life, inspires me to remember and locate where I am with my own personal growth and to notice what I might have overlooked during the cold months of winter.
Starting over is natural. And although getting knocked on your ass by your partner’s betrayal or a positive test result from your doctor’s office tends to bring out your most primitive modes of survival: fight, flight or the one we tend to numb out of awareness: freeze. Just like the animal who plays dead until the bigger animal passes by, our mind can choose to play dead on us as it renews and reconvenes on its next course of creativity. Although the challenge to rebuild after any significant pain and disorientation can seem overwhelming, the process itself can offer some of the biggest and healthiest opportunities you will ever find.
Creative leadership is about adapting and that comes from a heightened sense of awareness and self-care. Wisdom and humility to acknowledge what is working and what is not in our life and what we can contribute to create more of what will best serve us are each of our intentions. It might not be easy to find that center when you are experiencing the moment of healing or a drab winter week or the rage of being iced out of a place that you loved. But it is the wisdom of our own creative practice which can foster growth during such times.
We have all been through “fresh starts” in our lives, some chosen and some not. How you choose to experience the change is pivotal. The hardest thing about being in transition is being in transition. Be and meet yourself with the same appreciation as you would for the first truly warm spring day. Sometimes focusing too far ahead is the same as focusing on the past; neither exists or serves us. What we have is the infinite possibility in each moment to be and create what we want now. Scary? Sure, sometimes. And other times, centered, deep, thrilling and energizing. Choosing to create the new life you desire even in painful times rather than judging yourself is part of your rebuilding and renewal. When you are ready, the new begins to grow.
Adversity might blind us temporarily to the opportunities it holds for us, but just like what lies barren in the winter, it too hold life and energy within it. Growth and change are harnessed together both in our internal and external worlds. Take a good look around you in these first bold days of the new spring and hold it as a reminder of the infinite power of your own creativity for renewal and magnificent growth.
Connect to your CLCommunity and share whatever you are appreciating anew in yourself and your world.
