Facing uncertainty? 5 tips for a healthy transition

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

Are you going through any changes right now? Is the change wanted or unwanted? How have you navigated the disruption?

My household is experiencing one of our most disruptive seasons yet, literally spread across the globe. I’ll admit, it has been difficult. Yet there are wondrous glimmers too.

As I go through this transition, I’m finding that change can be like the future reaching back to invite us to evolve and become more of who we are. But to enjoy that evolution requires shepherding the transition in a healthy way - not always easy during upheaval.

When I unpack what ‘healthy’ means, I take inspiration from NACCHO's definition, where health enables each person in a community to realise their full potential, and in turn bring about the well-being of their community. This definition sees health as part of the life-death-life cycle.

Through my own experience of navigating disruptive change, I have found 5 tips for making a healthy transition (plus a bonus tip 😁). These tips are not exhaustive so I’d love for you to share your own tips for healthy transitions through change in the comments section.

5 tips for healthy transitions through uncertainty and change

1. Release what was

Letting go of what was can be painful and take time. Something has to die (at least, metaphorically) for the next thing to come in. Whether the change is wanted or not, letting go can bring sadness and a sense of loss.

Sometimes we need a little extra help to get through this stage, such as that of a therapist or coach. The important thing to remember is that holding onto what was for too long denies space for (and enjoyment of) the new.

A kindness rock in Cornubia Forest, Qld

2. Search for the new in the situation

Doing something new that you’ve not done before, can make it easier to release what was. Approaching with curiosity can bring enjoyment to the situation, too.

One joy of being back in Australia is befriending the wildlife, like this kookaburra

Did you know there are dimensions of curiosity? Perhaps you can see these dimensions play out as you seek out new possibilities:

• deprivation sensitivity (the need to fill a knowledge gap)

• joyous exploration

• social curiosity

• stress tolerance

• thrill seeking

My approach is to try to notice what you love and what brings you joy - and then to seek to bring more of that in. It’s good for your health to have fun!¹

3. Build connection

As the above two points imply, we’re not meant to go through change alone (although there may be lonely moments in transitions). As I shared last month, one question that helps me in a new context is, “How do I relate to this place and the people here?”

Connection takes time but it is worth persisting, being so core to health and wellbeing. For me, I find it helps to keep in touch with friends and family (nearby and afar), while also putting myself in situations to meet new people and communities.

Connecting through art: a beautiful time with my friend Ness as she shared her Gelli plate techniques (see her prints on IG!)

4. Practice being and expressing

Perhaps at the core of this tip (and all the tips?) is, as Nachmanovitch says, practice being and doing who you are. The entry point here is not an end goal, which can be tempting when trying to find certainty in chaos, but rather to practice and improvise as we adapt, mis-take and adjust.

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

I’ve found emotions to be important signposts for where to go next and what supports are needed, so I believe that observing and feeling them is important. Be kind to yourself - sometimes we’re conditioned to carry more than is humanly sustainable.

This is where I believe art-based play and creativity can be beneficial, not only to process emotions and find meaning, but also to practice any of the tips offered here.

As an example, painting requires both letting go (such as painting over what doesn’t align with a painting’s direction) while exploring and creating new things closer to what we like right now. Painting is just one example; there are different ways to engage in art (including ‘consuming’ and creating), and different forms of art to engage in (think music, theatre, literary arts, visual arts and more) (read the research).

It’s OK if art isn’t your thing, too. There are plenty of disciplines that involve the flow offered by the arts, such as sport, gardening, meditation, and cooking. Flow is a great space to be in.

5. Prepare for creativity

As Twyla Tharp wrote in ‘The Creative Habit’, to live a creative life requires preparing to be creative. Such preparation requires our own rituals and creative process.

A major change in life can disrupt or derail a creative process, as happened in my personal situation. Initially I feared that I lost my painting practice. I’ve since realised that painting will always be there; it has been my whole life. Instead, I am embracing that this change means new opportunities for new creative rituals and processes - and in time, new creations. I know for me, the shape of my creativity is changing in this new season and I want to explore where that leads.

Walking in nature is one possible ritual for preparing to be creative

Bonus tip - Set intentions and plan

Not everyone finds comfort in setting intentions (or goals) and plans so if that’s you, feel free to skip by.

If you’re like me and find visioning and planning to be beneficial, I recommend first taking stock of the season that just passed, to locate your personal lessons and intentions to take forward. From there, I like to ground my plans in imagining and designing a life that I love. It’s not frivolous to bring more joy into our lives; in fact, with the world as it is, joy is critical.

By the way, I hold my plans lightly, especially when going through a major change. Keep moving forward and you’ll get closer to what is calling. As Coach Beard said in the final episode of Ted Lasso (and as I wrote last year), change isn’t about trying to be perfect - and perfect is boring anyway.

Setting intentions and planning can help provide direction for our next steps

So there you have it! How do these tips feel to you? I invite you to take what helps and leave the rest. And please share your own tips and experiences for navigating change in the comments below.

How do you find your place in the world, when your touchpoints are unstable and changing? How do you shepherd in healthy transitions, in a goal-oriented culture that emphasises performance and excellence? I would love to learn from you and I’m sure other readers would benefit too.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Kristine Ten Brink for discussing an earlier draft of this blog post.

Footnotes

¹ I say this not as a judgment if you’re going through a difficult time in life where fun is out of grasp. There can be times in life that are no fun at all. I’m also mindful that socio-economic inequity means that resources tied to fun (including leisure time and rest) are more accessible to some groups than others. Instead, I state that having fun is good for health as a resistance to the West’s hyper-productive culture that normalises delaying fun, positioning it as frivolous or unimportant.

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