4 Questions to Ask Yourself During Transitions
I’m going through what they call a life transition
and I’m feeling a mixed bag of emotions. Excited. Terrified. Nervous. Grateful. Even proud. In these moments, I usually want to numb out to a Korean drama and eat ice cream in bed for a week. Change is hard. It’s also a gift.
Inhale. Exhale. Breathing full breaths to let the feelings flow through.
A part of me wants to scream out to the world - “Look at me! I’m transitioning. I’m scared. I’m also hella excited. I’m feeling all the feels... Someone please hold me.” My ego wants to make it a big deal. It is. But I realize that it is also so so common.
In just this month: one friend is healing through a recent breakup with an intimate lover. Another friend is graduating university and starting her PhD. And another is traveling across borders, to another country for work. People are always transitioning, in many forms. Relationships, careers, physical spaces, even mindsets.
We are constantly growing, evolving, shedding.
At every moment, we are becoming new beings and our life happenings guide us through that journey. And yes, we feel ALL the feels through it.
So the question is this.
Instead of being carried by the wave of emotions that come with life transitions, how can we take control of how we exit old chapters and enter new ones? How do we navigate changes with confidence, calm and ease?
Here are four questions that may help. Take 15 minutes to journal on it.
What are some things that you are leaving behind, letting go of, or unlearning in order to move forward? These could be beliefs, attitudes, emotional blockages, habits, even relationships.
From what you have learned about yourself and the successes of the previous chapter, what insights do you have that you can bring into this new chapter?
In what ways will you grow and blossom as you enter this new beginning?
How do you want to feel as you move forward? And what do you need to do to generate those feelings?
These four journal questions acknowledge that we are not static beings. There is no fixed identity or state. And yes, this can feel scary, to feel like you don’t really know who you are.
But these four questions also acknowledge our ability to evolve and create. And though a small voice in our heads will try to tell us that this responsibility is overwhelming and burdensome, we soon realize that self-responsibility is liberating.
This is an opportunity to dream and create.
So during these times of transition, when you feel overwhelmed or confused, instead of thinking, “how is my life changing?” or “who am I now?”
ask yourself, “who am I becoming?”
EXERCISE: And with that, journal away. Just 15 minutes to reflect and intend. Your future looks bright.
With love,
Ji-Youn