What’s Next? Leverage the Time of Transition.

“Not in his goals but in his transitions man is great.”  —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are you someone who thrives on having a project or a goal to work toward?  Have you noticed how you felt when you completed it?  Or, perhaps you’ve recently had to leave a job, or your children have grown up. How did you feel with the close of that chapter?

Purposeful people create impact through their actions, and (this is Secret #1) how they show up during those actions.

The “In-between”

Therefore, during the time of what ends up being “in between,” it is common to feel a sense of letdown, or of feeling adrift, or even questioning one’s purpose and value.

After leading 12 non-profit arts organizations through pivotal moments of change and transition as a professional Interim CEO, and helping hundreds of leaders as a Next Chapter Coach, I have come to know that (Secret #2):  the time in-between – the transition from one project, chapter, relationship, role to the next – is a key component to a career and life, and offers extraordinary opportunity to:

• Re-charge
• Re-store
• Re-assess
• Re-define
• Re-clarify
• Re-connect
• Re-think
• Re-commit

Sometimes, the time of transition sneaks upon us, only revealing itself as a quiet feeling of a pulling, or a restlessness, or a constant criticizing of others or our situation.

Successful careers and lives have been created by the What’s Next? being answered FOR us, as the next opportunity magically appears (not really, but it feels like that). It’s important to acknowledge that this method is a little bit of a crap shoot.  Sometimes what looks good on paper or as a next step on a resume, turns out to make us miserable. 

The in-between time can be frustrating, confusing, and even rock us to our core.    

And, it’s all a very normal part of business and of life. We just need to know that it’s “a thing.”

Our familiarity – and our effectiveness – of the old is now gone, and if we don’t have the training, our identity can dissapear, too.  The past is still tangible and easy to see.  We are moving toward something that initially we cannot see (or even believe will come). 

What can help?

• Name It: ARE you in a moment of transition? Say so! It makes everything you’re feeling make sense, and it makes it possible to create strategies to help.
• Be Wise: Life experience provides the evidence that there WILL be a “next.”  Remember that.  Know that you can and must create and curate that possibility.  
• Be Sherlock:  Notice and observe what you are feeling. Write it down, look for clues and patterns.
• Be Einstein: Test your assumptions about what is and is not possible – for you. 
• Be Accountable: You are the ONLY one on the planet that can answer the question “What do I (really) want?”  Use the in-between time to become an expert on yourself, the impact you know how to (and love to) create, and the internal and external “causes and conditions” that create that impact. Take charge, step into vulnerability, and create your own momentum as you (finally?) answer the big question:  “What do I (really) want? Why?  So that…(what will occur for others)?”

If you’d like a guide to help you move forward and take charge of, articulate and execute your vision, let’s talk!  Schedule a complimentary and confidential Strategy Call to dive in to your specific scenario and see if Next Chapter coaching is the right fit for you.

To your success!

Kathryn
Next Chapter Coach
Creator of The Career (Life!) Breakthrough Academy^TM