In a disruptively changing world, it is inevitable that every change in our environment affects us. It likely induces a kind of personal transition as well; either intentional, or adaptive, no matter whether it’s substantial or unnoticed.
Two years ago when a life-changing experience started for me because of following a MOOC (which stands for Massive Open Online Courses) from MIT on Theory U, I found myself in an unfamiliar process; I couldn’t figure out what it was exactly. The same was happening to most of my peers following this course while we were working together in the Hub that we created.
So, I became very curious on how could someone be sure that what is currently happening to them is a self-transition process from something which has been safe and familiar to something new and exciting, which needs to emerge?
I decided to design and conduct a research as a prototype in order to capture and harvest the stories of my Theory U peers, colleagues and friends, which were indicating such transformational process signs, while also including similar signs from my personal experience. Then I classified them into 4 different levels: emotional, physical, spiritual and systemic (considering that any person operates in a system). Some of these signs may even be seen as contradictory, which simply confirms the different perspective for each individual. But let’s see these signs of self-transition as they appear in detail:
Emotionally one finds themselves being more sensitive, more often coming into tears, many times seeking to get emotionally affected. Some people connect the latter with a process of cleaning their inner space from toxic elements from the past in order to support a letting-go process necessary for letting-in the new. A person named that process for herself “Catharsis”. Another one used the phrase “un-fogging my lenses”, which resulted in a notion of seeing more and better. There also exists a focus on the essential things in one’s life, and a kind of excitement, which is felt “inside and around”, like being under “a shower of happiness”. Feelings of hope, optimism, humility, serendipity and pride appear as well. People also reported trusting their feelings more. Some others mentioned that they found themselves in a more painful situation, simultaneously experiencing contradictory feelings like moving energy and calmness or hope and despair.
Physically one finds themselves becoming more aware of their bodies, more resilient, and many times experiencing the flow as they act in the “Here & Now”. When people were asked to focus more on their body’s placement in the environment, some said that they experienced something bigger than being just present. One used the paradoxical term “trans of awareness”. Another said that their body was just giving up. And a third one sweetly mentioned having “permanent goose pimples as something is growing inside my body”. No matter how stressful a condition that I am into is, I feel less stressed or not stressed at all compared to before. People also reported finding themselves more willing to meet others, and becoming more energetic to participate in anything that includes a collective act. Some said that they were keeping themselves busier than before even if there was no substantial change in the quantity of the things they had to do every day.
Spiritually one finds themselves to be more open to new things, more able to connect with others at a higher level where new unrecognizable emotions emerge. They redefine or search for a new meaning in their lives, and this involves a re-orientation on doing something really impactful on a larger scale than before. (e.g. the world!). A lot of people commented on this re-orientation as “a single spot in time”, an “aha” moment of realization that in order to change the world they have to first go through the path of changing themselves. One also finds themselves in a status of unlimited gratitude to the persons who are connected with and support their transition, described as “floating in a fog of light” or “being completely in my holy space”. A re-exploration of one’s self values and way of living (changing car for a more environmentally friendly one or becoming less consuming persons, etc.) was also mentioned.
On a more advanced level of transformation, people said that they feel clearer on what they don’t want to do any more, but not yet knowing exactly where they want to go from there. Even if the past was very successful, it is not satisfying anymore. A dialogue with the different parts of self and more reflection is taking place. People also reported that they were more willing to set up new goals in their lives. Some said that they realized that their goals were realistic and some others mentioned that they overdid it.
Systemically one finds themselves trying to protect the system in which they operate, even if it seems to be dysfunctional as seen from outside. This system, which is described by them as being fragile, may be a working group, the workplace, or anything which holds a space for their transition to take place or just even to support it. Paradoxically some others reported abandoning or downsizing their core system of operation in the prioritization list of their life. One specifically said that without having any feelings of shame or guilt, his beloved family and their needs became a second priority. Others mentioned disappointment that their system couldn’t understand or follow their transition process, and others expressed the need for “closing the gaps wherever they see them” by, for example, sharing information. I personally became more willing to close any open and unfinished issues with persons with whom there was existing a kind of tension as we were all operating in the same system.
So now I am inviting you to join my journey to the exciting paths of self-transition. If you feel that you or people close to you are in such a process, I would very much appreciate if you would like to share any signs that you believe are relevant. It would be wonderfully inspiring to create a collective map of self-transition signs, that could be useful for anyone going through such an exciting and challenging life experience or for experts like coaches, consultants or therapists who support those individuals in their life transition path. Thank you in advance for your contribution.
PS: A big thank you to all my friends, ULab Hub peers and colleagues who contributed to the compilation of this post with their valuable input and feedback to my core questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment