Embracing Change
A journey to transition from surviving to thriving
Introduction:
Change is scary— I get that! But what if it isn’t change that is scary? What if it is the uncertainty that is scary and we can learn how to lean into the uncertainty? I often hear people say things like “What if it doesn’t work out?” Well- I’m here to ask you “What if it does work out and better than you can ever imagine?” Walk with me down memory lane so we can explore just how great change can be.
A Story about Changing Jobs:
It was 2023, my friend was feeling stuck at her place of employment. She felt like there really was no more room for growth which means less opportunity to make more money. She was stressed, tired, and she was living her life in survival mode. After months and months of contemplation, she decided to put her resume out there just to see what happens. She ended up getting a better offer with better pay, but it was scary for her because she was complacent and this new job would be a risk. She was scared to leave the comfortable job she was at. Three months after she accepted this new job, she received a promotion and a raise. She is happier, less stressed, and she is thriving in her new role. I am so proud of my friend for taking that risk, leaning into the uncertainty, and making the change in her life. I hope this story encourages anyone who feels stuck at their current position to just take inspired action to put their resume out to see what happens. Now, lets keep going to learn about a time where someone made the conscious decision to do the hard inner healing work.
A story about healing:
It was around September 2018, there was a female who felt like her world just kept crumbling down. Her estranged dad passed away two years prior, her adoptive sister passed away unexpectedly in February 2018, she just became an empty nester, her chronic pain in her hip and back “flare ups” were getting more frequent and more intense, and she and her husband worked opposite shifts. She was stuck in survival mode and felt like she needed help so she sought out therapy for the first time in her adult life. She was scared because she was uncertain what would come up in therapy. She had a lot of trauma growing up from child abuse, neglect, a near-death drowning, physical assault, sexual assaults, medical trauma, and having a very toxic relationship at a very young age which led to drugs and alcohol use early in life. Let’s just say she was not your typical white girl living in the suburbs. She had a lot of healing work to do and it even got more intense when she fell in 2021 which triggered her PTSD symptoms.
Here it is in 2024 and she is no longer stuck in survival mode. She is thriving in her healing journey by sharing with others how beautiful life is on the other side of the darkness. She has become a transformational life coach and a mentor for those others on a healing journey. She feels more aligned with herself and no longer holds on to shame and embarrassment for her past. It’s been a beautiful transformation to see her go from merely surviving to thriving. I know this story because it is about yours truly.
Conclusion:
We have to make a conscious decision to challenge ourselves in order to change and get ourselves out of survival mode so we can move into that thriving mode. I understand first hand what it feels like to be scared on many levels. The first step is acknowledgement. Once you acknowledge there is a need for change, it makes it easier to start exploring options. I invite you to look inside yourself. Ask yourself, “Are you happy?” Is what you’re doing everyday bringing you joy? Are you complacent?
When you become curious about your life and it becomes clear that change needs to happen, it makes it a lot easier to make those moves. Change is not scary— Uncertainty is!
I will leave you with this final thought— If you want to see or feel change in your life, you have to be the change.
If you are just a little curious about embracing change and transforming your struggles into strength or pain into purpose, I invite you to sign up for my newsletters.