In the midst of a life change it’s easy to find ourselves stuck having no idea how to get unstuck. During a recent career outplacement workshop, I noticed there was much more going on in the room than just than discussion about updating resumes, networking strategies and job postings. Spending a significant amount of time at a company can result in identifying ourselves with our position and the roles we play within the company.  Arriving at a social function without our former title can be disorienting. When the life we know changes it’s normal to ask, “Who am I without the package?”

The same can be said for anyone who experiences changes in their personal life. In the case of divorce, a loss of a spouse or children grow up and move on, redefining the way we fit into our world can feel like an elusive process. Taking on necessary new roles such as primary breadwinner can feel uncomfortable and even frightening forcing us outside our comforts zones. We all have skills that are well developed based on out natural abilities and past experiences, other skills may need to be further developed. Taking on new challenges facilitates growth and moving forward. Moving into the unfamiliar will eventually begin to feel familiar one step at a time .

Transition points in our lives foster new opportunities if we are open to them. Change brings with it a sense of loss and fear of the unknown. Clinging to the status quo can leave us stuck in the past. We often know the answer to what we want to create in our lives but are afaid to act on what we know to be true in the deepest part of ourselves. Transition is a process and change does not happen overnight. Letting go of the old making roon for the new, feeling the fear and forging ahead anyway and allowing ourselves to risk failure can help us gain traction on the road that lies before us.

We learn wisdom from failure much more than success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who has never made a mistake has never made a discovery.” ~ Samuel Smiles.