Monday, June 20, 2011

Transitions


We are living in a time of enormous change. In the last 5 months, I sold my home, moved across the country to a new city where I am now renting a home. My dream is to mix working with playing, growing, meeting, and learning. It is a period of unending change for me.
It is also a time of such fast change in the workplace that it is impossible to keep up with all that is happening. If you work for an organization of any size, change is happening as we speak. Changing the way that things are done, structures, technical requirements, and who we talk to every day is all in a state of flux. If you are self-employed, you certainly have to keep pace with the world or you will feel the wind whooshing right by you.

What can we do to live within this change? What can we do to thrive within this tumult? And lastly, what can we do to move through so we can get to the other side, wherever that might be?And we want to get through to the other side as an authentic, compassionate, competent professional.

Over the last couple of years, I have been focusing on transitions. Small ones and big ones, like the move from Arizona to Georgia. I have been giving this a lot of thought, as well as a lot of experimenting with different ways to deal with these tremendous transitions. This blog is about sharing those things I have been working on and have found to be most beneficial for myself as well as my clients.

Transitions in the day:
  1. Give yourself time to move through the various activities that occupy your day. For example, when I come home, I take at least 15 minutes to become what I call, "human". No talking, no texting, no contact with another person. Then I switch gears, come out of my "cave" and I am ready to be social. At work, between meetings, I go off (even if it is just to the ladies room!) and play a game on my phone, look at the landscape, or just do some deep breathing. Three breaths - in through the nose, and out the mouth.
  2. After an emotionally trying exchange with another person: (in person or not) I ALWAYS sit and breathe as I just described after a difficult exchange. I need to center, catch my breath, and remind myself about what I wish to accomplish. This might be a couple of minutes, but it is so very important, so I don't spill "leftovers" with the next person I come in contact with.
Major Transitions:
  1. Have a plan and work the plan
  2. Have a contingency plan - what I call the "what if's". This list can't be exhaustive, but it can cover 3-5 things that might concern you
  3. Be kind to yourself. I kept getting lost in my new town for three months - most of the time, I was patient with myself, as I would be with a good friend. A few times, I was judgmental with myself, and that did not help at all. So I shrugged and smiled as quickly as I could.
  4. Know where your support is and who is in that group - keep them in the loop, and reach out to them if they are in need.
  5. Do whatever you can (and plan accordingly) to keep your energy balanced, your thinking clear, and your health at an optimum level. I don't need to go into detail - I bet you know what to do, and if you don't, there are great sites on the internet to find out what you need to do to supplement any of those areas.
  6. Get professional help whenever you think you are either at a standstill or lost. This can be a counselor, coach, bodyworker, etc. Just get the help - make it as affordable as you can, but an outsider can be extremely helpful.
  7. Every time you go into negative thinking ("This won't work; I'm going to fail: He isn't going to like what I do", etc.) take those thoughts and toss them into the ethers. As soon as I catch myself doing negative thinking, I literally smile and think of what I have, feel grateful, and trust in the future. Then I go back to working my plan.
There is much more, of course. Transitions are a part of how we live. We need to honor them, and all those who share our transitional moments. When I finish writing, I am going to get out of this chair in my office and do 5 minutes of yoga stretching. Then I will come back and do the next item on my agenda for today.
May all your transitions be smooth.
Diane

Monday, June 13, 2011

My World and Welcome to It!



Welcome to Win at Work! I have been writing for other people and other organizations for a few years, and I decided, in addition to that, to having my own blog that can entice, educate, stimulate, and amuse you.

What I see in this world of ours is that the conversation is often on topics or perspectives that have little positive effect on things. We are so involved in personalities and perversions that we often don't focus on the real issues. If we did focus on the real issues and not the personalities or the symptoms, we could improve things.

I will be writing from the conflict resolution point of view - how we can be more professional, more peace-oriented, more compassionate, more citizens of the world. How can we take care of ourselves and continue to think of others? I might write somethings that cause you to disagree -- please do and let's have meaningful conversation.

Look for the first installment next week. I'll be looking for you!