It seems that everywhere I turn recently, people are in some kind of transition. Uncertainty is in the air. For many, the “unknown” is looming large, whether on a personal, professional, or societal level. Some people describe this time as a waiting period, although they may not actually be sure what they are waiting for. Others feel that they should be taking some kind of action, yet they aren’t sure what that action is. Little seems clear; nothing is definite; there is often an unsettled feeling inside. Perhaps you can relate.
When navigating transition, change, and uncertainty, presence is everything. Not just being fully present, but also paying attention to the quality of presence that you bring to the present moment. How you actually show up.
I’ve been in my own transition and navigation process in recent months. I’m re-imagining my professional life for the coming years, and on the home front, Johnathon and I are preparing to move to a new home. On a societal level, I often feel adrift with all that is happening in my country. I do have an intuitive sense of what is happening on the macro level and what we are working through in the mass consciousness. However, in the navigation and experience of daily life, it’s easy to get lost, frustrated, or overwhelmed. So I, too, continue learning and finding my way.
Through my own experience in recent months, I’ve recognized four keys that have helped me greatly in navigating transition, change, and uncertainty. Perhaps these keys can make a difference for you, too.
Key #1 – Get Grounded In Your Bones
Being grounded within your own physical structure is a fundamental key to finding a sense of inner safety and security. Breathe into the bottom of your body (root chakra, if you know the chakra system), and then into the whole length of your spine. Then feel your feet on the ground and breathe into the earth. From there, breathe into your bones – your ribs, your shoulder bones, your arm bones, your pelvis, your leg bones. Feel your physicality. Open your chest and upper back and breathe deeply. Become grounded in your physical structure. This first step will help you gain some stability.
Key #2 – Remain Engaged and Keep Listening/Sensing/Feeling
When we feel lost, frustrated, angry, disappointed, or overwhelmed, it’s easy to withdraw or disengage. The intellect goes on overload and we can’t take in more information. Any emotional stimulus quickly becomes too much. This is especially true when what we are hearing, sensing, or feeling is not what we had hoped for or what we would like.
However, when you expand beyond your intellect to your heart, you will find that your heart intelligence has much greater capacity for navigating complex situations and circumstances. Even within the most challenging and uncertain situations, there are signals that will give you clues about how to navigate and find your way. They may be hidden to the intellect, yet if you stay grounded in your physical structure, remain alert in your heart awareness, and pay close attention to everything around you and within you, you will start to notice them.
So Key #2 builds on Key #1 – first, be grounded in your physical presence, and then pay attention to which inner intelligence you are engaging from. When you are grounded and you listen, sense, and feel on multiple layers of your situation from your heart intelligence, possibilities that you hadn’t imagined before will begin to emerge. You will find a next step – something that can work for you. If you lose your grounding, disengage from the situation, or only engage from the intellect, you are likely to miss those signals.
Key #3 – Don’t Assume Anything
Making assumptions about what people mean can quickly lead to misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Don’t assume anything. Don’t assume that people mean what you think they mean. Don’t assume that what you sense and feel is always right. Especially if you are emotionally entangled in what is happening, or when the stakes are high and things are not looking good, then fear, doubt, or anxiety can block your pure intuitive intelligence.
Therefore, keep working the first two keys – stay grounded and remain engaged. Stay calm, ask questions, be curious, and keep all of your senses open and alert. Rather than using your intuition to interpretwhat is happening, let your intuition guide your curiosity. When you intuit/sense/feel something, ask questions that will either help you confirm what you are sensing OR show you something else.
Key #4 – Use Your Transformational Presence Tools
If you have attended the TPLC (Transformational Presence for Leaders and Coaches) or the TPLA (Transformational Presence Leadership in Action), you have a lot of tools that can immediately help you gain further insight and awareness.
If you haven’t yet participated in one of those courses, it’s OK. Start with the free short videos of some of our tools and frameworks on our website. You can also find many tools in my books – especially Create a World That Works and Transformational Presence: How To Make a Difference In a Rapidly Changing World.
For the most complete online resource, visit the Transformational Presence Leadership Center. (A new format and subscriber experience is coming to the Leadership Center soon!)
My own “first tier” tools for self-coaching are the Three Questions, the Four Levels of Engagement, the Three Intelligences, and Enlightened Dialogue.
My “second tier” tools include Time and Space Sensing, the Deep Simple, and the Soul-Ego Dialogue.
In Summary
In summary, the Four Keys for Navigating Transition, Change, and Uncertainty are:
- Get Grounded In Your Bones
- Remain engaged (in the heart) and keep listening
- Don’t assume anything
- Use your Transformational Presence tools
Keys #1 and #2 are the foundation. Without those first two, the other two won’t help you much. However, if you remain grounded in your physical presence and expand beyond your intellect to listen, sense, and feel through your heart, then step-by-step, you will find your way. Even in the face of the biggest challenges.
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Related Blog Posts:
- The Liminal Space – Embracing the Mystery and Power of Transition from What Has Been to What Will Be
- When Life Stretches You
- Experiencing the Wisdom of the Heart
