Handling the growing pains that go with change

Well I don't know who it was that wrote that post two weeks ago, cause I've swung to the other side of the career change pendulum. From peace and tranquillity to restless despair.

I'm sure I wasn't down this often before my decision to restructure my entire life. Not to mention the high flying emotions. It's a novelty to catch me dry eyed these days.

I find solace in the fact that almost everyone I speak to going through a career change reports equal dismay at the emotional roller coasting involved in making the change, but no one seems to have discovered a way to handle it.

Sometimes I'm not sure there's that much difference between career changing and an early or mid-life crisis. The only difference with a mid-life crisis is it starts with inexplicable emotional trauma that is a signal that something's got to change, while career shifters happily plan the change and then the emotional trauma ensues.

In a nutshell, change of any kind hurts. I dare say caterpillars strapped up in their little cocoons transforming into butterflies probably go through a certain amount of discomfort and despair too.

Like a caterpillar I guess I have to accept that change is all part of the rich texture of life and there's no way of avoiding growing pains. But there's got to be a way of handling it better than wallowing in it and feeling sorry for myself.

I think often you just have to ride it out, like a bad hangover. One of the things that a lot of the shift stories have echoed is the importance of nurturing yourself when you go through a change. Music helps, actually meditative action helps too - washing up, de-cluttering a room, cooking... One thing that doesn't help is to try and think your way out of it - that only makes it worse.

Actually mid writing this I went to have lunch and with no leftovers hanging around I was forced into cooking. I whacked on the music and after dancing, cooking, eating and singing into a spoon for an hour I feel a whole lot better - reenergised.

Ha, so maybe there are ways of handling it. I even feel ready to tackle the issue of money...but I'll leave that for another blog.