In Betweens & Fresh Starts

August 13th 2017

To get from one place to another, you need to navigate the in between…

I am currently caught in an “in between”. An in between is a place at the end of one period of life that transitions you into a new period of life. Some of histories great in betweens happen when we don’t even realize. For example, waiting for the Wright brothers to figure out airplanes was an in between because we were moving from a world without the possibility of air travel, to the world we have today where you could pack up and fly from just about any city in the world to the city of your choice in a day. Another in between would something as small as graduating high school or college and just sort of trying to get into the new life you’re destined to have. You are at the in between between your high school self and your college self, or you college self and your self-sustaining adult self. Or perhaps that period after a new president is elected and the old one becomes a sitting duck until inauguration (I am not inviting political discussion, just stating a fact).

I am at an in between currently. Aside from the aforementioned “college student to real person” in between, I am at a far more personal in between as well. I am at the in between my current self and my ideal self. It is a funny thing when you wake up and realize that you have been living in transition for almost 2 or 3 years and you’re just seeing it now, but I’m sort of glad that I am no longer blind to my own growth.

So the purpose of this post is to perhaps wake up a few people who do not realize that they are living in an in between. Mostly because most of our lives are in betweens. So here are just a few of my tips for handling these transitional periods of life that seem endless:

1.  Remind yourself why things are changing and what there is to look forward to. If you want to be a killer musician, picture yourself rocking out on a stage as a headliner of your own show. If you want to be able to draw beautiful portraits of cats, sit back and imagine all the emails of people commissioning you to paint and draw pictures of their feline friends. If you want to be a writer picture yourself coming up with better examples than talking about aspiring cat portrait artists.
2. Realize that change and growth are a part of life and you should be more afraid if you find that you aren’t changing. Growth is a part of life and being nervous about it is entirely natural. However, as much as we knock change, how often do we look back on people from our past who we outgrew and think about how grateful we are that we changed?
3. Set a game plan. Once you’ve realized you’re in a transitional period, whether it be something big like moving or something small like trying to get in shape enough to run a mile on the treadmill, set a plan on how you’re going to get there. Mark down the steps you need to take to get there.
4. If it isn’t in your control, then don’t sweat it. My examples with the Wright brothers and the president show that there are times where we all collectively transition but we are not in control. If you didn’t know the Wright brothers then you couldn’t go slapping them on the wrist and telling them what to do. If a transition isn’t under your control, then let it happen and find ways to gain control of the situation beyond that.

Alright, so now that that’s covered, I would like to run myself through this list and show you how it really does help put a long transitional period into perspective.

So first of all, I have a solid idea of where I want to be. I want to be at a place of ease and balance. I want to be able to be happy and social and healthy while balancing work, life, and future planning. I envision myself, in the future, working my ideal job, making a difference in people’s lives, and feeling happy and empowered while doing so.

I have realized that change is a part of life and that I’ve spent too long holding on to the past when all I want to do is let go and move forward. Things are different now, but I am aware that some things never change, like the support of my friends and family.

My current steps to my ideal self are:

• Cleaning up my space to inspire me to clean up my life
• Cleansing myself of clothing and possessions that no longer represent me
• Decorating my space to reflect the me I am working towards
• Committing to the new me by developing healthy habits
• Setting more time aside from writing and maintaining my blog
• Making changes to my blog without stress or fear
• Reading books of different genres to keep myself inspired and learning
• Working harder at yoga to actually see the progress I want to see as opposed to staying in my comfortable bubble
• Travelling whenever possible to become more experienced and knowledgeable about the world around me
• Maintaining a work life balance that leaves me feeling comfortable and not overwhelmed
• Setting aside more time for self care
• Eating cleaner and returning to working out at night

This situation is in my control and the outcomes are entirely based on my actions. That is why I am determined to stay committed and work towards the idea version of myself that I aspire to be. That person already exists within me, she just needs some help getting out.

Remember, an in between is just the scary rope bridge you cross to get to the land of new beginnings~

Jess~