Transitions
Whether we do it consciously or unconsciously, we are in the middle of transitions throughout our lives ; adapting to our parents splitting up, beginning or ending relationships, finding new friends, letting go of loved ones who die, moving jobs and homes.
The nature of the transitions we make each day can determine the levels of happiness or inner peace we are able to manifest.
The larger transitions are those we encounter when falling asleep at the end of the day or waking up at the beginning – but the smaller ones throughout the day and how we manage them can greatly influence our wellbeing, our heartbeat, our blood pressure, our potential rates of anxiety, depression, and our self esteem.
The transitions in your life may be obvious or much more subtle – how you feel when you arrive at college or the workplace, when you pick the children up from school, or go home to an empty flat. But they will be less of a shock if we mentally prepare ourselves for the destinations we are heading for.
If we are going home to a partner who is suffering from depression or low moods due to stress at work or with the family, it may help to prepare for how they are feeling a few minutes before you arrive. If you are listening to a comedy podcast, which is a great idea by the way, maybe turn it off a few minutes before your return and allow yourself to feel more regularised, more balanced, so that you can be more ready for an agreeable exchange when you get in.
This is not the same as being codependent, which is covered elsewhere in this blog section –It is simply being empathic to your family or friends’ state of being, and is likely to help you have a better more balanced time at home.
For me, I will start thinking about a client 15 minutes before I see them – look at my notes, remember what we have been talking about recently, think about the week they told me they were going to have – so that when they arrive I will not be looking surprised to see them and will not have to catch up.
Sensitivity to our own state of mind and the way it responds to different settings is key to our interpretation of how we function as human beings.
Self esteem can also be seen as a transitional state, between an activity we feel good at, until we see someone doing it better. At that point it is important to reboot, refocus, and re engage with our personal experience and the meaning it has for us.