Facing a Transition?

This is the time of year when students step into the transition of the new school year and the range of new challenges, anxieties, opportunities and experiences such a transition brings. What better time than now to join them in considering our own potential transitions? We’ll cover a range of angles and considerations in future Catalyst Compass columns. Out of the gate, here are 5 key considerations for those entering (or considering entering) a transition or new phase of life:

1 – Invest time clarifying your identity. For most of us, our identity is based on our past rather than our present. That creates an anchor moving forward (which limits the potential FOR such movement forward).

2 – Tune into current filters. The science is clear that we don’t see “reality” but rather filter the various sensory input based on our personal filters. Awareness of those filters can be powerful as we move forward into a new phase.

3 – Clarify your personal philosophy. Ask (almost) anyone about their philosophy of life and they’ll parrot something from their primary “tribe.” Understanding and clarifying the difference between default response and actual can be powerful.

4 – Fully living involves a combination between POSSIBILITY (“the shoreless sea of imagination”) and NECESSITY/Facticity (the realities of life). Most of us lean heavily in one direction or the other. Opening our eyes to the integration of the two is the catalyst to fully living.

5 – Put WHO before WHAT. Most of us understand the value of goals (the “what” I’m going to do). However, creating a clear, personal vision (the “who” I’m becoming) provides a turbocharge to our goals. Here’s a short video on creating a clear, personal vision that may be of interest.