Transition. A transition is a change from one thing to the next, either in action or state of being—as in a job transition or as in the much more dramatic example of a caterpillar making a transition into a butterfly. Trans means cross. Crossing into a different state of being. Crossing over. Christians believe in “crossing over” as leaving this human life form on earth to a spiritual being with God in heaven.
We all have multiple areas of transition in our lives. From a baby transitioning to a toddler. A high school graduate transitioning to a college student or joining the workforce. From the single person transitioning to a married person or a parent. From leaving one job for another. We are always in a constant state of change, either consciously or subconsciously. The only constant in life is gonna be change. What transitions are you conscious of happening at this point in your life? What transition do you want to make for yourself? How do you transition? Change?
1. Be aware of who you want to be. What do you desire for yourself? Are you stuck in a dead-end job with no room for growth? Are you willing to take a risk in achieving your goal that you’d like to have happen? If you’re putting off what you wish for yourself, why are you doing that? If you’re afraid of what someone else will think, does their opinion really matter to you? Are you living for them or YOURSELF?!
2. Get out of living in the past. Your past doesn’t define you. Everything that has happened in your past has led you to this moment in time. Let me repeat that: EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED IN YOUR PAST HAS LED YOU TO THIS MOMENT IN TIME! If you need to forgive yourself for your actions in the past, you had better do it ASAP because the longer you hold onto your hurts, the more you become used to them and the harder they are to let go of. Do you realize you are made to make a difference? Whether it affects 1 person or 1,000 people, you hold the key to impact someone else. Think about it this way, you can tell yourself that I don’t really matter, I’m only going to impact one person. But, BUT what if that person is able to learn from your story and in turn impacts 1,000’s or 10’s of 1000s, but because they never heard your story, their own impact on others is lessened? But Mike, I’m just “lil ole me”, I can’t help somebody, I won’t affect anybody, nobody listens to me, I don’t deserve it….wah wah wah. How many eggs from your mother, how much sperm from your father was present the day you were conceived? And yet here you are! Talk about a friggin’ miracle! Over 7 billion people in the world and yet there is only 1 of you, and you don’t think you’re special? A miracle?
3. Own your past mistakes. Stop blaming others for your lot in life. I’m assuming you are an adult by now. Take responsibility. One of the first things learned in 12 step recovery programs are you are not responsible for the disease of addiction BUT you ARE responsible for the choices you make while you are practicing your addiction. At this point, dad would say “shit or get off the pot!” Own your consequences.
4. Believe in you. Have faith in your abilities. Don’t tell me you have a dream and then put it on the shelf, taking it out of it’s nice gift-wrapped box and looking at it, wishing it could work out for you. If it’s important enough to you for you to have it in your life, then you better be doing everything in your power to accomplish it. But Mike, what if I fall flat on my face? DO IT ANYWAY! Don’t let others or your own self-doubt influence you.
5. Don’t give up after your first try. Do you think Edison gave up the first time he tried out the light bulb? Did Michael Jordan quit after his first basketball practice his Sophomore year when he was cut from his team? Now my dad would be saying “you never fail until you stop trying”. You have to be willing to sacrifice for your dreams, your choices. Be resilient in your pursuit, dogged in your determination.
I want to leave you with one final thought, one you will find me coming back to again and again,
“We are born for a higher destiny than that of earth; there is a realm where the rainbow never fades, where the stars will be spread before us like islands that slumber on the ocean, and where the beings that pass before us like shadows will stay in our presence forever.”
— Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Until next time…
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