I wanted to write about 17 other things today but I can’t get the word transition out of my mind.

Last week I wrote to you about being "completely and utterly alive" in a transition.

But I think I left out these words:

Hard. Confusing. Anxiety-producing.

Why am I still thinking about this word?

Because last night I had my September membership live call on transitions.

And if you are a parent, all you are thinking about this week is the GREAT TRANSITION.

This means kids are in school full time again. Masked, of course, but leaning with humans in front of them, not on a screen.

Now that your kids are back in school, you can actually work from home.

(And that the sink contains only YOUR dishes! Cups are back in the cupboard and not on every counter in every room in sight!)

So yes, we may feel utterly alive in transitions, but we can also feel anxious, skeptical and sometimes even resentful to let go of what once was.

The same guy who said that we feel alive wrote the book on transitions. William Bridges's model has been used for decades and involves 3 stages of change.

1. The end of something.
2. A neutral zone.
3. A new beginning.

It sounds great but let's be honest:

1. Letting go and leaving something can be really hard.

Leaving a job you don’t love but helps you feel secure. Ending a relationship or friendship that suits you in some ways but doesn’t fulfill you in others. Moving out of a home you need to leave because it’s time.

It’s even hard for me to leave a good party at the end of a pre-Covid night!

I get it.

2. The neutral zone ain’t so neutral. It’s a period of time that can last for days, weeks or even years.

If the change was forced upon you, it can be mixed with resentment about what you had to leave.

Even if you chose the change, it can be filled with anxiety about what’s next.

Will I make money? Will this fulfill me? Will my kids be okay in this new experience? Will I be happy?

(Because ultimately, that is what we all want).

3. And then alas, the new beginning. Two words that are easy to type but hard to believe and realize when you’re in the middle of the letting go or swimming in the morass of the neutral zone.

So I leave you with this:

Trust.

Trust that this cycle of change works every time.

Everything that ends, will indeed find a new beginning.

And maybe it’s not just about where you end up, but how you live your life in the “neutral” path to get there.

Whether it’s entering a new high school or starting a new business, this cycle of change will take place over and over again.

So as I told my members last night, if you need, you can place your hand on your heart (you can do this when no one is looking, but I encourage you to do it in front of your kids) and say to yourself:

"I already have everything I need right inside of me."

Once you truly internalize this, you’ll know that no matter what phase of change you are in, everything will be okay.

I promise.

With fierce love,
Alison