Transition Isn't A Dirty Word

I have a few friends who are in this late 30’s early 40’s stage of life and are just not where they thought they would be, me included. Life has taken us on some paths we didn’t know existed. Our Lyft’s have dropped us off on the wrong corner. The bartender made the wrong drink and my clothes are no longer in style…or something like that.

You get what I am saying. Things aren’t the way we thought they would be. I always thought I would be a corporate, C level executive by now. Have a corporate amex, my own entertainment and travel budget, calling the shots for my own team, with a matching husband in tow and maybe a kid (I never ruled it out).

Welllll, I am consulting, I have a 10 month old (who is amazing) and an equally awesome husband, he is just different than what I had initially pictured in my naive head.

In any event, things are not what I thought they would be. I have taken some blows to my confidence, I have taken some blows to my bank account, I have taken some blows to my ego. I have had several conversations with friends who are on this same path, this path of transition. This path of figuring out where you are, so you can follow the path to your next journey.

For me, this transition has left me in a fog. I couldn’t see what I was supposed to be doing, and fighting myself and my internal thoughts all along. I am just now coming out of that fog, dusting myself off and claiming what is mine, even as unconventional as it might be. I am proud of my bumps and my bruises, I am really aware of where I truly stand with a lot of people, in my personal and professional life. I have some work to put in on this new path, but I’m here for it.

Transition can be a really hard thing, you can really lose yourself in the struggle of it all, but there is always a flip side. It may not come easy and it may not be pretty, but it is always there. And if you can just keep on that winding path, it will present itself to you.

I would be lying if I said this transition hasn’t warn me down, heck, I am still coming out of it. I can say that through this part of my journey I have learned so much about myself and what I am built for. I can only remember one other time in my life where I can say that the journey took me up a notch, and that was coming out of a divorce and leaving everything I knew behind.

While this transition wasn’t quite as tumultuous, it still has taken a huge emotional toll on me. I am grateful for this space, I am surrounded by people who are in the midst of their own transition, as well as those standing squarely in their glory. I am thankful for both.

My point, you may be asking, is that you gon’ be alright. Depend on your friends and family, really lean into the messages that you are meant to learn during your transition. Take it all in, cry, scream, love, shout, do it all. Feel all the feelings, learn all the things and pick yourself up and keep pushing through. Transition isn’t a dirty word, because you can transition yourself straight through!

Author: Randi