by pam | May 19, 2024 | Art of Change, Becoming an Author, Change, Life Transitions
Are you starting a new life chapter? Starting a new chapter in your life is similar to writing a chapter in a book. Both require courage, creativity, commitment, an openness to learning and growing, and time. Let’s explore the similarities.
Courage
It takes courage to end one chapter in your life and begin a new one. Even if a life transition is one you have chosen, it still requires courage to take that next step into the unknown, toward that life, relationship, business of your dreams.
A helpful framework to do this is the Art of Change Framework – https://pamela-thompson.com/how-to-navigate-change-from-the-inside-out-a-personal-journey/ In this framework, there are three phases: an Ending, a Neutral Zone, and a New Beginning. Each phase has work associated with it and if we don’t do the work, we often keep repeating the same patterns in our lives, remaining unhappy and unfulfilled or choosing the next relationship or job based on the wrong reasons (e.g. that are out of alignment with our core values).
It also takes courage when starting to write a book. Which genre do I choose? What is my “why” for writing this book? What is my first step? It involves venturing into the unknown often without a clear plan and trusting that everything will work out.
Creativity
The work associated with the second phase of the Art of Change Framework is envisioning that life, relationship, work of your dreams. This is a time for creativity.
Likewise, when writing a book, as authors we depend on creative ideas surfacing. There are techniques we can use to enhance those possibilities such as creating a sacred space where we write and leaving “bread crumbs”[1] after each session so that we have a place to start when we next begin to write, instead of staring at a blank page.
Commitment
We need to be committed when we enter the New Beginning phase of a life transition to create a plan for moving forward toward that new life, relationship, business of our dreams.
Similarly, when writing a book, we need to allocate a certain amount of time each week to write, block that time off and follow through. It is also helpful; for example, to set a goal of writing 1,000 words each time we sit down to write. Some authors also find it beneficial to designate a certain amount of time to each writing session.
Openness to Learning and Growing
When starting a new chapter in our lives and writing a new chapter in a book, it is important to be open to learning and growing. Both processes require that we learn and grow. Similar, to a butterfly moving through the various stages from larva to chrysalis to beautiful, winged creature, we as humans transform through the process of embarking on or writing a new chapter.
Time
It takes time to move through the transition journey process and it takes time to write a book. Part of the process involves transforming, and healing, and we cannot force that process. That said we can commit to taking the time to write that next book or navigate that life transition.
Where are you in your transition journey? Are you writing a book or navigating a new life transition? I welcome your thoughts and questions below.
A dear friend of mine, Anita Adams – https://joyfulinspiredliving.com, has recently launched a new book “Whispers of the Soul”. In it she vulnerably shares her experience of a major transition, from founding and leading a national non-profit in the film industry in Canada for almost two decades, to shutting it down and becoming a leadership coach, podcast host, speaker and author. In her book, she eloquently shares her process and lessons learned and demonstrates courage, creativity, commitment, an openness to learning and growing and the recognition that it takes time to consciously move through a life transition.
Praised by early reviewers (including myself) as a treasure trove of inspiration, “Whispers of the Soul” caters to both novices and seasoned seekers alike. With its blend of personal anecdotes, profound insights, and thought-provoking exercises, it’s sure to ignite your curiosity and fuel your journey of self-exploration. Learn more and get your copy here: https://joyfulinspiredliving.com/books.
[1] Writing tool recommended by Jennifer Louden – https://jenniferlouden.com/
by PT-clc | Dec 3, 2019 | Becoming an Author, Creativity, Memoir Writing
I am opening up space once again to create. This time it is
to write my memoir. In order to set up an enabling environment for creativity
to flow, I made a decision to finish my radio show on Bold Brave Media on
November 20th at the end of my six-month contract. The 24
shows are archived at: http://boldbravemedia.com/shows/the-art-of-change/.
They are also available on https://www.spreaker.com/show/3561427
and iTunes. Feel free to listen, comment and share on the various platforms.
I really enjoyed researching, preparing for and interviewing the inspiring women leaders and changemakers who were my guests on ”The Art of Change”. It definitely has been a labor of love. I would like to thank all the listeners who loyally tuned in to the show regularly or from time to time. I hope you found the shows of interest, were inspired and learned something from them. Perhaps in the future I may create a podcast. I would appreciate you letting me know if that would be of interest.
Why do I feel the need
to open up space to create?
Creativity is associated with the right side of our brain; whereas
organizing and planning are associated with our left-brain. Planning a weekly
radio show is largely left-brain. I find if I have to constantly be planning
and organizing 6 weeks or so out on a show or a project, then it is more
challenging to be creative.
How am I “priming the
pump” to create? I’m continuing to meditate daily before getting out of bed
in the morning. I’ve found plugging in to Deepak and Oprah’s 21-day meditation
experiences helpful to do that. I spend regular time in nature walking, hiking,
cycling … . I practice yoga three times a week and have a regular morning stretching
practice.
I’ve found that my most creative time is in the morning so after meditating, coffee and stretching, that is when I write my blogs … . I haven’t yet set a time to begin writing my memoir; that said I have various stories and ideas percolating in my head. I feel like this experience will be a bit of a life review; an opportunity to reflect and write down stories that may not be included in the book. The process will enable me to let go of and clear some old stories and beliefs that are no longer serving me. I have read a number of memoirs, am about to begin reading several books on writing a memoir, and attended an inspiring 2.5 day workshop on the “Spiritual Art of Memoir” facilitated by Joan Boryshenko in July.
Stay tuned and thank you for your ongoing interest and support.
I’d love to hear how
you “prime the pump” to create. What
strategies have you found helpful to get those creative juices flowing?
by pam | Sep 1, 2015 | Becoming an Author, Conscious Living, High Achieving Women
When I set out to write my first book “Learning to Dance with Life: A Guide for High Achieving Women” that launched on Amazon last week, I had no idea the emotional roller coaster I would ride in the weeks leading up to “going public” with the book.
About a month before launch day, I started to feel incredible tension and anxiety in my body. For a number of years adrenalin had been a foreign substance in my body, but in the weeks leading up to the launch, adrenalin and the other stress hormones returned with a vengeance. Not only did I feel underlying anxiety (which is not normal for me), I was having trouble going to sleep and waking up early. I started to have misgivings about certain personal stories I had included in the book. Should I remove them? Should I tone them down? What would people think? I was baring my soul to the world and felt extremely vulnerable.
The next wave was a mixture of excitement and fear. I kept saying to myself “ride the wave”, “let this move through you”, “you are safe.” Reflecting on this, I think I was likely experiencing a number of fears and insecurities from the past that were still in my body and presented themselves with such questions as “What will people think … Will they connect with the book? Will my message reach them?” The old inner critic was running wild!
Then a week to 10 days before the launch, I felt overwhelmed by the number of things yet to be done – finish and proof the companion workbook, craft emails and posts, ask for support from friends and colleagues to share the book launch information through social media and/or emails to their contacts. It felt like there were not enough hours in the day. Then it was down to prioritizing and focusing on what was most important.
A big challenge that came up was reaching out for support to so many people to ask them to get the word out. That really stretched my comfort zone being a high achieving woman who is challenged to reach out for support, and is often the one giving to and supporting others.
Writing my book was the easy bit. It flowed out of me. The emotional roller coaster of pre-launch was the most challenging, yet it was growth-producing and taught me a lot. The most amazing part of the launch was the incredible high I felt when I saw that my book had reached #1 in the rankings in 2 categories on Amazon. I did a happy dance, was “pumped” for my launch party and basked in the amazing energy for a few days. I imagine it is similar to the exhilaration a surfer experiences when they ride a huge wave successfully to shore.
Have you experienced something similar? Do you relate? I welcome your thoughts and comments below. Feel free to share the post with others.
