When Big Changes Hit You on the Head

Life transition can often come because of a big life event. But it also can hit us more slowly, a deeper feeling that we need to move in a new direction. Or perhaps we’re just getting tired of our current job or place in life.

Transition came in a big way for me when my mother got sick over 3 years ago. I left my big city life in NYC, quit my job, said goodbye to my friends and moved back to Colorado.

Very quickly everything was very different. It felt like I had lived on Earth and was transported to Mars.

My living situation went from having my own apartment that I loved, to moving in my parents’ house, feeling just like I did when I was growing up.

I went from having a six-figure job in a hedge fund to living off savings and my first entry into starting my own business.

Not to mention, going from living a metropolitan lifestyle surrounded by skyscrapers (which I got quite used to after living in New York for 10 years) and back to a suburban one with open blue skies.

Believe it or not that was quite a shock to my system.

For 2 years I felt like I couldn’t get my feet on the ground. I was home, but didn’t feel rooted or grounded. I couldn’t because the kid that grew up there, was gone. I was a different person now, transformed by 10 years of city living.

Then my mom died. It was a very hard and sad time and the healing continues from that. She suffered a lot up until then end, and we all suffered with her.

I woke up one day months after she died and decided to quit doing what I hated (which wasn’t making me much money anyways), and to start doing what I loved.  Since then I’ve found my calling for my career as a transformational coach and speaker, and I’ve moved to Denver. A happy medium between New York and my hometown. Things are evolving everyday, I’m happy to say.

When a time of transition hits, it is hard to know what you’ll feel and experience. It is different for everyone. It often feels overwhelming and doubt can take over. It can be very difficult and bumpy.

Yes that is part of the process at times to go through the emotional turbulence, but there’s also the possibility it could be easier than you thought it could be, no matter what the circumstances are.

You can read pop articles and advice on the internet from sites like MSN or Yahoo…some of it might be good…but most of it will be regurgitated tips from some “expert” aka web journalist that they probably got from other articles. But have they been through it?

Maybe, maybe not.

For those of us who have been through big transition know what is feels like from the inside out.  When changes hit that are unexpected it can feel like a rollercoaster ride we’ve never experienced, because no transition is ever the same for anyone. Even in our own life, because the flow of life is ever-changing as are we.

So here are some questions to reflect upon and answer as many as you like below:

1. What has your experience been when big changes in life come your way unexpectedly?

2. Did you see them coming or have a sense of knowing about them beforehand?

3. How did you handle these changes and what did you learn from the process?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions, experience and wisdom in the comments below.

-David