Transition is a Process to Get Where You Want to Go
One of the first lessons we learned early on during our transition stage from our corporate life to our ideal lifestyle which for us was “A Simpler Life” was that change is the most persistent thing in the world. It is all around you. No matter how clichéd this proverb may sound, we have to say it repeatedly that ‘change is the only constant in the world.’
And yet, we don’t want change because human beings crave comfort and change compels us to move out of our comfort zone. In fact, people in bad relationships continue to remain in the relationship because they are scared to be alone. Change or transition is nothing more than a process or journey that promises to take you to your desired destination.
It’s not a monster or some evil thing that is working against you. It is just a way that nature uses to lead you to where you want to go. Here are some tips that we found useful to put into practice during the transition period.
Don’t be scared of making mistakes – Mistakes empower you with stability in your new way of life as you learn new things and struggle through the learning process.
As you take that leap of faith to make positive changes in your lifestyle regardless of how big or small they are, you will see that the process is actually interesting and can be a lot of fun. For example, when we decided to sell everything in our house, we had a 3-week garage sale during which time nearly all the items we would not need in our new lifestyle got sold. We enjoyed the experience of getting rid of things that would not fit in our new way of life.
Yes, each time that we sold or gave away something we thought we were attached to, we realized that the emotion lasted only until the next thing got sold. With each item leaving with its new owner, we found our attachments getting less, making it easy to transition from one way of life to another with little or no pain.
Be patient with yourself during the transition period – Remember, changes are not easy, and the process can take its toll on your mind and body. Do not expect an awesomely smooth and hitch-less transition process. It would not only be naïve but also boring because the excitement and learning from mistakes is the best part of the process.
We urge you to be patient with yourself and the world around you during the transition period. It’s going to be tough and may be overwhelming. But, it’s definitely going to be worth all the trouble! For instance, when we moved to our Motorhome, we didn’t know how things worked (we had to take a cold shower because we forgot that we had to turn the water heater on!), we forgot where we had put things, and so many more challenges cropped up.
These challenges might seem little to you. But, when you experience them, what happens in your mind is that you end up comparing these new pains with the apparently smooth aspects of your previous life, and it is natural to feel frustrated, and even a wee bit anxious about whether you have made the right decision to change your life. Just take our word for it when we say, all these are temporary feelings encountered during the transition process, and you will see the light at the end of the seemingly dark tunnel sooner than you think. Just be patient!
Remember it’s not about money – When we spoke to people earlier on about our intention to change our lifestyle (and yes, rather drastically), the leading challenge would be MONEY as we were leaving corporate work or selling our businesses. People asked us how we were planning to realize our dreams if we didn’t have any regular money coming in every month! And yes, while money does play a reasonably significant role in our lives (after all, it does put a roof over our head and food on the table), it is NOT everything. Money can be earned in a variety of ways and should not be the reason why you choose not to change.
We learned that the presence or absence of money does not affect our ability and power to change. Our mindset and the strength of our commitment on which we made our decisions are the elements that helped us make the positive changes so that we could lead a lifestyle of our choice.
Don’t resist change – Strangely, most of us resist change even though we know that transitions are the most natural things to happen in this world. Everything in the world changes, and nothing is free from the effects of change. So, we learned not to resist the challenges happening during the transition period.
We told ourselves that if we don’t accept the changes happening to achieve our desired lifestyle, then we would not be able to move forward to “A Simpler Life,” which we wanted. The faster you accept the changes, the smoother your transition process will be.
Look for the positives in all situations – During the initial days of our new lifestyle, we struggled through the challenges of finding new routines within our new space. However, we choose to laugh about it instead of complaining because after all these changes were driven by our desire to change our lifestyle.
Focusing on the positive aspects helped us cope with stress more effectively than before, which, in turn, improved our physical and mental health. Additionally, a positive attitude helped us grow and helped us see new opportunities.
Therefore, we would like to reiterate the fact that transition is nothing but a process that helps you reach your goals and desired lifestyle. There is nothing to be scared of, but all this should be embraced as being part and parcel of your journey.
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