How to Navigate Transitions

v  Pray, a lot.

It may seem cliché but it helps. Prayer is communicating with God or better still talking with God. Imagine you are a little child and you have this amazing dad whom you can talk to about anything. Have you ever told a little child a story and when you have finished narrating the story, they keep asking a million and one questions? That’s how in transitions you need to talk with God. Talk to God all the time and honestly, because remember you are not trying to be perfect but you are trying to get help, help in your time of need whichever need (in transition, in fear, in uncertainty, etc.)

v  Take one day at a time.

During Transitions, you will get a lot of questions from close people and not so close people alike. Questions like, how will you get out of this? How will you survive? Are you sure? Etc. Soo many questions that will make you question yourself. These

questions are important, but don’t let them send you into overthinking. You will

lose your mind, don’t. Instead, make a plan of how you want your life to look like and also the short-term goals. i.e. if it is a job, write down the job you would want to have and apply for it. If it is school, look at the course you would like to pursue and look for schools that offer it. Also, take short-term courses to build your expertise. Whatever the transition, make a plan and then literally deal with only today. The proverbial one day at a time.

List the activities then schedule a time to do the activities even if it is rest, schedule it. Deal with today, today and tomorrow, tomorrow. “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27).

v  Enjoy the moments.

Did you hear the birds chirp today? Observe what’s happening around, walk around,

appreciate nature, smell the fresh air, put on some music, dance, do the things you have been meaning to do and have not done. Bake that cake, play with the children, etc. Appreciate that you can hear, see, jump whatever you can do so easily appreciate it. Do not be so engrossed in your thoughts and plans that you forget the beauty of life happening around you.

v  Be mentally prepared.

In life, we face all sorts of setbacks same to difficult transitions. Being mentally prepared can reduce the stress or anxiety that could come with these types of transitions. When you are aware of something you tackle it differently than if you are caught off guard. For instance, you decide to visit the park, and you are told not to take any pictures of the animals, just observe them. You will be conscious not to do it, but if there was no such instruction given and you are caught and confronted for taking pictures illegally, you will become defensive. Same to a difficult transition, if you know it is difficult, you kind of prepare yourself on how you will respond to hurdles along the way. Take for example the year 2020, most of us did not know that we would have a pandemic so we were caught off guard. Now we know to plan, but not just to plan but to plan in a way, that will allow for when things don’t go our way.

v  Get it out of your system.

Don’t hold it in and try to navigate transitions all by yourself. Talk about it with someone or if not, get a journal and write down, how you feel through the process. Otherwise, you will take out your frustration on someone who has no clue what you are going through. This can create a rift or cause an embarrassment because it could happen in a very public place or something even worse could happen.

We know how to detox our bodies so that the toxic stuff can come out and the body becomes healthy and you feel energetic. But for our emotions we don’t, so we have these pent-up emotions from a long time; maybe even ten years ago or more that we have never dealt with. So, we keep piling them up, and eventually we ‘explode’. Don’t keep it in, there are options. There is therapy, you can journal and even talking it out with a trusted friend. Very important to share with a trusted friend; not everyone can be trusted.

v  Don’t beat yourself up.

As human beings we error. You may in your transition have errored. Examine the situation, correct the mistakes, dust yourself, and keep moving. The beauty in life is that everything we go through teaches us something. Maybe you didn’t have patience, or self-control, wisdom, or a plan whatever the lesson. Learn and move on wiser to face the next task equipped.

v  Don’t burn bridges.

As challenging as transitions may be, try and make them as drama-less as possible.

Usually, there are relationships at stake so try the amicable way as much as possible. I

understand though that some situations may not be amicably solved and probably the bridge needs to be burnt anyway, i.e., in the case of an abusive relationship. Which is destroying you instead of building you. So, talk to God, ask him to give you wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5). Otherwise, if you can solve issues or transition amicably then please do. But if you need to “love someone from afar”, by all means, then do it.

• Email Address: cindydoresi08@gmail.com