Get Grounded While In Transition with These Three Steps

Any time you have been really caught off guard and you are in a lot of pain, there is always an awakening with lots of wonderful life lessons to follow. The world is in a financial crisis and people are losing their homes, moving in with relatives, wondering about where their next pay check is coming from. The emotional, spiritual and mental aspects of these kinds of changes create chaos and overwhelm. Many people shift into panic mode, and take action only to experience a downward spiral. Besides taking the needed action steps to get your life back, you want to lay a foundation that will support you during turbulent times. To get grounded, develop a plan for the inner journey first by using these three steps while in transition.

1. Journaling
2. Looking for evidence
3. Start a spiritual practice

1. JOURNAL
Sit down and get quiet and journal. Let all of it out, what has happened, how it caught you off guard and what feelings you are going through. Then answer the question: What am I committed to?

This should lead you to know WHO you want to be in this world. What VALUES are you committed to? Integrity? Courage? Compassion? Pick at least five. From this list will come all your other decisions. When you make a firm commitment to live life from your deepest values, t you can even withstand the most challenging changes. The point being, for example, that if you commit to a value such as "Appreciation" then in any situation where you are not being appreciative, you will know instantly that you are out of alignment. The reason this works is because until you KNOW who you ARE and what you are committed to, you will always be caught off guard. You need to establish a firm sense of self that is deeply rooted.

2. LOOK FOR EVIDENCE
When you are anxious it is easy to get depressed and spiral down. All you see is the bad. What you want to do is “see things differently.” When you change the way you see the situation, the situation starts to change. Use an exercise that I call “looking for evidence.”

Get five postcards, and on each one write down one good thing you want to be true. Not something magical or unrealistic, but something that resonates with you, that could be true but is not true for you yet. For example, "I am capable and good things happen to me,” or “I am confident and courageous.”

After you have written out five of these, keep them and each day look for evidence of truth in these statements. When something happens that connects with one of your statements write it down on the back of the card. For example, when you speak up for yourself, write that down on the statement about your courageousness. Collect evidence of what you want to be true, until it becomes the truth from which you live.

What you are doing here is reprogramming your brain to change to look for good and to start becoming a co-creator in your world instead of being always caught off guard and behind the 8 ball.

3. START A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Having a regular spiritual practice, whether it is a quiet walk in nature every day, a daily prayer ritual, or quiet meditation, is the key to staying calm and grounded in very troubling times. If you are not part of a loving church, I would suggest you find one when you move. You need support and because you will not have any resources for a while, you need to rely on the real source that is within you more than ever.

Most of us believe that the source of our happiness is outside of ourselves, but each of us have a divine connection with the Creator of all. When you connect with this, you will start meeting the next right person who can help you take the next right step.