Change

I’ve long been a fan of Financial Times writer Lucy Kellaway’s work with her sharp British wit and unvarnished insight.

Transitions are not always easy. Change, whether it be chosen, or thrust upon us, often requires shifting our attitudes and expectations. Culturally, we often see early life transitions - possibly during adolescence or early adulthood - as our most opportune time in life. The world is your oyster, you have your whole life ahead of you!

Every summer I watch my family prepare themselves for our epic drive north from Baja California to the United States. We bundle into our minivan and take four days to traverse some of the most desolate and striking countryside I have found on the North American continent.

"Usually sometime around midlife, we come to a point where we’ve seen enough of our own tricks and we come to feel that my shadow self is who I am. We face ourselves in our raw, unvarnished, and uncivilized state...

It’s difficult to know when a "messy middle" begins and ends – and hard to know exactly what to do, how to do it, and how to move toward a new beginning. It is not only intellectually and physically challenging, but emotionally draining because of all that uncertainty.

Sometimes we need to "repot" ourselves to flourish again. I call this "same seed, different soil." We have a blind spot for the wisdom we’ve cultivated in a company, in an industry, in a particular position or role. It’s often when you change the landscape that you start to see what value you can bring to a new habitat.

Regardless if it is the summer or winter, I love watching the Olympics--particularly figure skaters and gymnasts. But what I really like to learn are the stories behind the athletes, their families, challenges, and the hard work involved in getting to that elite level.

I will never forget the birthday when my ex staged a surprise party at a circus school. Suddenly, I was thirty feet in the air with my friends cheering me on as my impatient teacher was nudging me off the platform for my very first flying trapeze solo. Talk about your liminal moment.

Currently, we’re in a collective transition that may be more profound than anything I’ve seen in my life. People are quitting jobs and changing careers. They’re moving from their homes or apartments. Ending relationships. Taking up new spiritual interests.

Chip’s comment: This guest post seemed well-suited to Independence Day, not just for the U.S., but for yourself. Have your hopes and dreams been suspended during the pandemic? Even if you stayed physically healthy, it’s commonly recognized Covid took an emotional toll on all of us. Part of the price of the pandemic is its theft of so many dreams.