Just about everyone you know is experiencing some sort of transition as the summer comes to a close.
New jobs are beginning, old chapters are closing, and plans that seemed so far away are suddenly right in front of us.
As we moved my younger daughter, Sam, back to college for her senior year, I found myself emotional over how fast time goes by and how, in an instant, things can change. It feels like it was just yesterday that we moved her in to start her freshman year.
Learning to Lean Into Change
I’ve been thinking a lot about how everyone navigates change differently.
For me, change was always uncomfortable, and I told myself, “I am bad with change.”
Until one day, I found a reframe that worked for me: I experienced the power of leaning in and being present in the messy middle of change.
Not rushing to figure everything out.
Not constantly looking ahead to the next thing.
Not wishing myself back to what was.
What if you could lean into that messy middle, be grateful for where you are and how you got here, and trust that it will all work out?
Practicing Presence in the Messy Middle
Earlier this month, I spent a weekend in Philly with my peers from my IGNITE MCC class, where I met everyone in person for the first time.
This gave me a very real opportunity to practice Maintaining Presence (one of the ICF core competencies, if you know, you know) something I continue to work on daily.
It would have been so easy to get caught up in my insecurity of not being enough. Rather than retreating into my default behavior, I chose to lean into the discomfort and be present.
And in doing so, I discovered something:
Growth doesn’t always have to come from learning something new. It can come from giving ourselves permission to practice what we already know and discovering just how much more is possible when we do.
What Might Be Aligning for You?
What if you were to embrace the messy middle and stay present? You just might begin to see how things are aligning in ways you hadn’t anticipated.
✨ A conversation happens at exactly the right time.
✨ An opportunity appears that you weren’t looking for.
✨ Something you thought you wanted no longer feels right.
✨ A door closes, and somehow, another one opens.
This experience comes up in life and work all the time. When the path unfolds differently than you imagined, not knowing can be really uncomfortable.
But when you stay curious, lean in, and trust the process, you can often look back and see how the pieces were coming together all along.
Coaching Corner: A Moment for Reflection
I invite you to reflect:
- ✨ What change in my life is asking for my attention right now?
- ✨ What might be aligning for me that I can’t see clearly yet?
- ✨ What would it look like to be present and live my life right now rather than skipping ahead to the next chapter?
Sometimes the most important work isn’t figuring out what’s next. It’s being fully present for what’s here.
Embrace the Messy Middle This Season
As we head into this new season, my hope for you is that you can embrace the messy middle of what’s changing, trust that some things are aligning even when we can’t see how, and remember to live your life along the way.
If I can support you, please reach out about coaching packages or to set the focus for your next scheduled session.
