Connect with Untapped Potential on Facebook 
| Home |
|
Coaching |
|
Course Outline |
|
Testimonials |
|
My Story |
|
Blog |
|
Contact Me |
Transitions
By Karen Vally on 19 Aug 2024
I wonder if you have ever thought about the various phases that you have been through in your life, as transitions. The most useful definition that I came across during my research on this topic, was that a life transition is any change or adjustment that has a significant impact on our lives.
A transition with which we can all identify, is that from childhood to adulthood, which for some might have been smooth, while for others, challenging. Similarly, some of the transitions that we have experienced as adults might have been exciting, such as falling in love for the first time, entering a tertiary institution, getting one's driver's licence and first car, starting a new career, getting married, the birth of a child, opening one's own business or travelling to a new destination. Others might have been traumatic, such as the break-up of a relationship, illness, injury, loss of a loved one, financial hardship, unfulfilled career aspirations or feeling abandoned.
Transitions by their very nature, evoke an emotional response. Those for which we're able to prepare, are much easier to navigate. Those that are unexpected, catch us off guard and catapault us right out of our comfort zone.
As I reflected on the various transitions that I have experienced during my life, the first one that took me completely by surprise, was when my husband, Kevin, received his first noteworthy promotion as branch administrator of FNB in Richmond, KZN and we had to leave our brand new home in Queensburgh and move into a much older house, owned by FNB. I was devastated, as, up until that moment, I had a wonderful life. I was newly married with two young children, a beautiful new home, my parents, and my best friend and her husband, were our neighbours, and all the amenities I needed, were easily accessible. Suddenly, I had to adjust to a whole new way of life, far away from family and close friends.
Then, two and three quarter years later, it happened again. This time, Kevin's next promotion resulted in us relocating to Eshowe. After two years in Eshowe, he was promoted to a position at a branch of FNB in Pietermaritzburg, where we remained until he retired from FNB in 2013. As painful as these moves were, they taught me some very valuable lessons about life and about myself.
The most courageous transition that I have ever initiated, was in 2013, when I decided to leave my position as Senior Financial Advisor at Old Mutual, to become a New Insights Life Coach. I had been studying towards this qualification with no intention, at that stage, of becoming one. I was simply satisfying my insatiable appetite to learn and grow, as a way of coping with the incessant demands and huge responsibility that came with my role as a financial advisor. And then one day, something happened and in that moment, I decided to take early retirement.
Then, in 2016, Kevin presented me with, what he described as my last chance to fulfill my dream of relocating to the Western Cape. We would have to sell our home in Pietermaritzburg and live on a farm in the Kamberg Valley for 3 years, where he had been appointed as the bookkeeper on a top dairy farm. I was terrified of going to live on a farm but, after a conversation with my physiotherapist at the time, I made a decision to "go in faith not fear." It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. In fact, my business grew at the fastest rate during those three years, and we were also able to build the home of our dreams in Somerset West during that period.
Those early transitions were so much more painful than those in 2013 and 2016, as I had been working with my coach since 2011. By 2013, I had developed a sharp awareness and felt the benefits of her support. I learnt new skills which helped me to cope more effectively, I had grown in courage and confidence and I had learnt how to slow down and how to make wiser decisions. My mindset had changed and my expectations were more realistic. She made me aware of how hard I had been on myself and encouraged me to practise self-compassion. In her presence one day, I discovered that my true purpose was to become a coach.
"All of these experiences have two things in common: our lives were never the same, and we evolved...challenges and uncomfortable feelings accompanied (them)...our old skin is shed to the point of discomfort so that we can begin to feel alive in our new self...the shedding process helps to remind us where or how we once were."
"Once we can soften into the transition and take the time - which is a gift - to relax into it, it can soon evolve into a place of respite, a place that is ripe with possibilities and excitement, a place that holds space for us to become even stronger."
How many transitions have you experienced? In what way have they contributed towards the person you have become?
"The real thing is hard to find. The real thing is worth waiting for."
| Latest Blog Posts |
|
> Closing The Gap > Transitions > Daring To Do Things Differently |
| BOOK NOW… |
|
BOOK NOW FOR YOUR FIRST FREE COACHING SESSION : HOW TO SET AND ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS. Email karen@untappedpotential.co.za |
| New Insights |
|
Copyright Untapped Potential 2024 | Life Coaching Somerset West | karen@untappedpotential.co.za | 082 895 3885
Developed & maintained by Smashing.