My #1 Tip For Transition

Time to read: 43 seconds

Not actual dorm room. We're organized but not this organized.

This is the season of transition….last vacations, kids starting school, and work projects ramping up. Times of transition are discombobulating at best, and anxiety and conflict-producing at worst. Think of families bickering in the school supply aisle at Target.

We drop off our first child at college today. She's excited and ready. Bags are packed. Every imaginable closet organizer is purchased. I poured my feelings into a long to-do list. I vacillate between thrill to see her launch and agony over watching her go.

Which brings me to my hot tip about how to manage transitions.

Simply acknowledge you are in transition and be with it…discomfort and all. In the past, I fretted and tried to control change. Guess what I learned?

It's impossible to control anything change.

You can't speed up time. You can't muscle your feelings into submission. The transition is going to happen despite what you might want.

You are, however, strong enough to handle whatever happens and however you feel.

New job? Promotion? Seasonal change? Getting older? Moved a parent into a nursing home? This strategy works for every and all transitions, big or small.

The other thing that helps is talking to me! This is the one time of year that I open my calendar for free 30-minute chats about what's going on for you and help you develop a solution or two. I'm also enrolling the 2023 class for my signature group coaching program, Clarity U.

Here's what one graduate has to say:

"Working with Clarity U gave me insights and tools that I use on a daily basis. I tell my friends that this work has been more valuable to me than a lifetime of therapy. (And a lot more fun.) I wish I had done it 20 years ago. Christina is amazingly insightful and honest, and one of the warmest and most encouraging people I have ever had the honor to know.” - E.G.

Intrigued? Let's talk. We start in early October so the offer to chat is only open for a few weeks. Grab your spot.

Can't wait to connect!

Answering Your Curiosity

Time to read: Less than one minute

You were curious

Hello rebels!

In your responses, a couple of you asked if I would answer the same questions that I asked you. Great idea! If you're interested to know what I'm thinking about and struggling with, keep reading.

If not, go back to your waaaay more interesting email.

I don't mind.

Really, I don't.

Here it goes:

What are you thinking about?

I think a lot about the state of our world and the future of American democracy. I have read more news in the past few months than ever before in my life, and it's simultaneously fascinating and distressing. Most days, I'm hopeful and optimistic. Some days, I feel despair. I can't get enough of The Atlantic.

I think about racial justice and all kinds of justice.

I also think about my children more than they want me to and paint colors for the outside of our house and my garden.

Oh, and I think about food. What's for dinner is frequently the first thought I have in the morning.

What are your current struggles?

I don't struggle as much as I used to which is a good thing since I used to be a master struggler.

That said, I am struggling mightily with school in the fall. No solutions are good solutions and reopening fully (which is what I want) seems impossible. I would give up everything and isolate alone in my room if that meant school could open in the fall.

With everything else, I hold a lot of complexity and a lot of unresolved questions and contradictions. Like:

• How to maintain the march to independence for my teenagers while simultaneously keeping them safe.
• What activities are safe and which ones are not?
• What is my place in the movement toward racial justice? What is the role of my business?
• What's eating my butterfly bushes?
• Is it indulgent to buy a water lily?

Are you working too much? Not enough?

I'm working the perfect amount. The awesome thing about my business is that I LOVE IT and because I'm independent, I can respond to your needs and my own at different times and in different seasons.

What are the unique challenges you're facing in these times?

See the answer to "current struggles." School. I'm having a very hard time letting school go. With all my preaching about "acceptance" and "surrender..." Nope. Not there yet when it comes to giving up school.

And it's hard to know what to say when there are no answers and no one has been down this path before.

How do I make sure my parents are being safe?

What would be helpful?

When I say I love to hear from you, I really mean it. I love to hear what you're thinking, what your world is like, and what's happening in different industries and parts of the globe. So, reach out anytime.

With love,

Christina

P.S. The Rebels at Home Challenge is a fun time. Eight easy challenges over 8 days. It's worth a little slice of your time this summer. Sign up here.