10 Transition Steps From Life Coach Sue Maitland

As a professional life coach for over a decade, I've helped hundreds of people make inspired transitions. I've personally dealt with many transitions in my life including relocating from one continent to another, changing career paths multiple times, divorce, a successful second marriage, being a mother and caring for aging loved ones. 

Here’s my advice for dealing with unexpected change: 

1. Give yourself time to process what has happened - If you’re dealing with the loss of a loved one or the loss of a job or an opportunity you were hoping would materialise, or a relationship you hoped would last, understand that there will need to be time for grieving. Everyone grieves differently, however try not to get stuck going over what could have been or what you should or could have done differently. 
2. When you are ready, step back from the experience and ask yourself “What valuable lessons can I learn from this?”  
3. Be wary of buying into any advice offered from others. Your friends and family may mean well, however their advice will come from their own perspective, based on their experiences, beliefs and values. What they would do in your situation, may not be right for you.
4. Be kind to yourself. Avoid using negative self-talk if you haven’t been as on top of everything as usual. It OK to cut yourself some slack and most other people in your life will understand  and perhaps even find ways to help you as you navigate this transition.
5. Try to stay connected with others in your life who are a positive influence and can support and uplift you. Avoid those who bring you down.
6. Take time to clarify your priorities. They may be different than in the past. At transition points in our life, it’s helpful to clarify what’s really important to us, before making any big moves (*).
7. Avoid taking on lots of new commitments to fill up your time and keep you busy. Ensure any new commitments align with your values and interests and support you utilizing the skills and strengths you most enjoy using.
8. Create a vision of what you want for the next phase of your life and set one or two goals with realistic dates attached and an action plan to achieve those goals. Share these plans with a supportive friend or relative and ask them to help you stay accountable to follow through on your goals.
9. Anticipate what might cause you to get off track with achieving those goals and have a strategy to get you back on track if that happens.
10. Appreciate that this unexpected transition presents you with a chance to make positive change in your life. Things will be different and after taking valuable time for self-reflection and envisioning a new future, you may find all kinds of new and exciting possibilities begin to open up for you.

(*) When I began my coaching practice I always conducted a coaching session specifically designed to uncover the top priorities of the people who worked with me. I soon realized that getting absolutely clear on your priorities is valuable for anyone in transition and I turned this coaching session into a workshop mirroring my one-on-one coaching session. I delivered the workshop live for many years and eventually developed an online version that can be accessed by people around the world.

Find out more about my flagship priority setting workshop - What’s Important to Me Now? 

The workshop has helped people around the world get crystal clear on their priorities. This is powerful information for anyone making a transition. Once you know your priorities you can ask yourself “How are the actions I plan to take aligned with my priorities?”. You can find out more about this workshop HERE