Feeling Lost? This Is Why....

Time to read: 2 minutes

You are living in liminal space.

Liminal what?!

Liminal space happens between two things. You know that blue light time in the evening when it's not day and it's not night? That's liminal space. Liminal space is an anthropological concept originally used to describe important cultural rituals that move people from one identity to another (single to married, child to adult, alive to dead). You are in in-between time right now. Not in your old world and not in your new one.

When you're in liminal space, you feel ungrounded, rudderless, even a little lost. Does this feel familiar?

Keep reading for examples, why this matters and what to do about it.

Examples:

• You take a new job and give notice. Those weird three weeks when you are no longer fully in your old job and are not yet in your new job? That's liminal space.
• When a wedding starts, the couple enters as single people and are catapulted into liminal space until they are declared married at the end of the ceremony.
• A pandemic sweeps the globe upending life as you know it, leaving you uncertain about the future and the structures you rely on for security.

Like I said in the first line, every day is liminal space right now. You are between the identity and the life you had in January and whatever is coming next. You don't know when this will end or how. It's unnerving.

It's also powerful. All bets are off and the possibility for creativity is endless.

So, what do you do about liminal space?

1. Name it. Check! You just did that by reading this newsletter. Naming it takes the pressure off.
2. Keep going. Churchill said, "If you're going through hell, keep going." There is no magic formula. The only way out is through. You keep walking up that aisle. You keep wrapping up the old job. You keep walking the dog and making dinner. Keep going until you land, new and ready to go on the other side.
3. Find your protectors. In cultural rituals, people are shepherded through liminal space by friends and elders. Think bridesmaids and mentors. You are not meant to go through this alone. In today's world, everyone is in liminal space so you have to find your protectors and be the protector for others. And yourself.

I'd be honored to be one of your protectors as my clients are protectors for me. Thriving in Uncertain Times is the perfect place to keep going together.

We start on May 28 at 10:00 CT. This program is designed to be easy on the budget and easy on your time. You get 20% off your registration through Memorial Day. If you can't make the calls live, no worries. They will be recorded so you can put on your headphones and listen while you walk your dog.

A six-week coaching experience for Corporate Rebels

REGISTER HERE

20% off if you sign up by Memorial Day.

I look forward to spending more time with you!

Christina

What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks Is Going On with August?

It’s August. Tomatoes. Sweet corn. Last trips to the lake. State Fairs. School supplies.
 
My clients are counting down the days until school starts.
 
Other clients are taking breaks to give themselves much needed time to marinate before the speed train of fall leaves the station.  August can feel like mush.
 
What the hell is happening? Why is August so weird?
 
In a word (actually, four words), August is liminal space.
 
Limerick what?
 
Liminal space. 
 
It’s a threshold. A place in-between two identifiable states of being. The middle. A waiting place.
 
In many cultures, liminal space is the disorienting place in the middle of a ritual (e.g. a wedding ceremony) when the participants have left their original identity (e.g. single people) and have not yet been initiated to their new identity (e.g. married people). Liminal space is disorienting, ambiguous, and uncertain like being in-between jobs, waiting for a medical diagnosis, the time between evening and night, and hanging at the airport.
 
So if you’re feeling disoriented, uncertain and mushy, welcome to the liminal space of August.  The plans you had for summer are behind you. The routines of fall have not yet begun. And here you are, wondering what to do.
 
These three strategies will help:

1. Stay: Stay in the in-between place. Be present. Be aware. Take the pressure off yourself to be anywhere other than here.
    
2. Prepare: Use the time to get ready, to set the ground for what’s next. Do things behind the scenes, work on your website, clean out your files, go through your email, and return calls.
    
3. Innovate: Do something creative. Work in a park, bring ice-cream to a meeting, conduct a brainstorming session, ride your bike to the office. Stimulate new ideas by trying something different.

 
Then as the weather cools off and we leave liminal space for routine, your foundation will be set and you will be ready to go.
 
I hope this helps.
 
Christina
 
P.S. If you feel like you’d like some support or know someone who could use support as they navigate a liminal space, schedule a free 30-minute session with me. Sign up here. I can help.