Taking a Big Leap: Four Unexpected Consequences
So.. in the next month I’m leaving my full time job, subletting my space in a shared house, and moving to Asheville for a few months. You know, just a few small changes. As it has been a while since I’ve changed so many things as once, a few things have surprised me. If you decide to also take the leap, you might find that these surprise you as well:
- You won’t always be thrilled about what’s coming next. This might seem puzzling if you are sure that the change is a good one. If people ask you if you are excited, it is ok if your answer is along the lines of: “No, I’m stressed and burst into tears regularly. Can you give me a hug?” It will pass. It doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong choice. It just means that big changes take time to digest, and you need to mourn the things you are letting go of before you move into creating new things. I’m very grateful that a fundamental part of my coach training was understanding the change cycle and what actions (or inactions – rest is important) are appropriate in each stage, otherwise I would have been a lot more flummoxed. Here is a brief summary of the change cycle that will help you understand what is going on a bit better: http://marthabeck.com/the-power-of-change.
- Letting go of the old frees up space for the new. Once you move past the panic/crying stage of change, dreams and ideas just arrive as if they’d been waiting for you. It appears that my ideas were pacing outside my door peeking through the door cracks and jumping up and down, waiting for me to open the door. Just a few days ago, the last few pieces of a workshop I’ve wanted to do for years just fell into my head, landing with a giant “DUH!?!” sound.
- It tells you who the people are who *get* you. And by this I don’t mean the people who love you, I mean the people who really understand who you are at your best and who you are capable of being. They will be the ones who say: “Well, of course that makes sense to me that you are upending everything in your life to move to Asheville because of an intuitive hunch, a Tarot Card reading, and because you want to be a wandering healer for a while. Wait.. WHY does that make sense to me?? But it does feel like the right choice for you. You should GO!”
- If you take big leaps, you will inspire others. Even if you didn’t plan to motivate others, you’ll find people around you will start to make sudden out-of-the-blue announcements about crazy changes. We’re all interconnected, and as you trust yourself to make big changes, you’ll give other people permission to dust off their buried dreams as well. And this alone will make it all worthwhile.
