How many times have you experienced unexpected change you simply didn’t ask for?

I’m talking no comment card, no suggestion box, no constructive feedback on your part has prompted this butt-kicking change you've got to deal with. And if you’re in it now, I’m with you. This blog is dedicated to supporting you through what I like to call surprise-attack change.

Surprise attack changes are hard because many of us have controlling, high-achieving natures (lovely).

This means we prefer to plan for transitions! Whether it's a new move, future relationship, fancy trip, promotion or new job... we love a good transition that's vision oriented and in the plan!

And yet, life be damned, we regularly deal with transitions we didn't ask for:

1. Someone's hurt.

2. You've lost your job.

3. Your leader is retiring.

4. You get designated on a new big project you never expected.

5. Oh, or you win the lottery. Better add that here so I'm not overly pessimistic.

6. You get a contract bigger than you may be ready for.

When you're responding to an unexpected change, it can mean double the self-work, so why not get double the support?

Here I want to reaffirm the 3 core steps to making a holistic transition AND create some more space for you to process the newness or surprise of what you're going through!

First: Absorb the change, and feel your feelings!

At their best, transitions bring about hope, anticipation, and excitement. At their worst, they may bring sadness or anxiety - regardless, we can't align the right support until after we become aware of what on earth we think about this new reality.

There's brilliance in our feelings, though sometimes we need an incentive to really stick with them before jumping into action. Here's where I've got your back: a strategy to feel more productive while tapping into your feelings! This strategy comes from The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp.

Each of our feelings can give us clues about what we need to create space for:

1. If you're feeling anger, ask yourself about what you may need to disrupt or remove from your life that's no longer useful.

2. If you're feeling fear, ask yourself what you could be alert to in this moment to increase your learning or awareness

3. If you're feeling sadness, give yourself space to consider what it's time to let go of in your life

4. If you're feeling joy, notice what you want to take into FULL celebration or amplification mode

5. If you're feeling a sense of creativity, seek out what can be build or cultivated through you in this moment

Now - take the wisdom of your emotional reaction to this surprise change into your transition process!

That's right - change is external and tangible in the world around us. The transition process is how we internalize and move on change so that it can be holistically incorporated into our lives and leadership. Here are the 3 core steps, driven by the work of William Bridges and his book, Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes.

1. Acknowledge what's ending. This is where you tap into those feelings! Is this ending a goodbye? A proactive choice? Is it internal or external?

2. Create space for yourself in a neutral zone to consider what this really means to you. What does this change or ending mean to you? What have you learned? What do you truly want now?

3. Choose a beginning. Given what will best serve you next - where do you want to start? Create space for you to plan.

Want even more support through this process? My Empower Hour is just for you. Join me in the Empower Hour podcast for personal guidance through this process (not to mention a fabulous guidebook for all your reflections along the way!).