When Pomp Meets Circumstance

Recently, I attended the graduation ceremony for a dear friend who was receiving her MBA. Hard earned, her coursework had been completed while working full-time, balancing a return to life post-pandemic, and a myriad of big life events. Having just secured a new job, she's ready to take on the world in the next phase of her career.

Looking around the room, the grand scale and hundreds of eager graduates adorned in their caps and gowns made for a spendid display of "pomp." Signs of celebration were everywhere, accompanying the auspicious circumstances of the occasion.

Who knew that a line from Shakespeare's Othello and a set of marches written by Edward Elgar in 1901 would come to define the ceremonious nature of this transition? Certainly, this milestone marked much more than the signature walk across a stage to collect a piece of paper.

I sat in the audience struck by how representative this moment truly was - and how easy it is to gloss over opportunities to bring intentionality to the important transitions of our lives.

As the graduation speaker got up to speak, the familiar refrain sang out:

"Graduates, as you embark on the next phase of your life..."

The speaker went on to offer bits of advice - words of wisdom - that might accompany these accomplished, hardworking, and motivated individuals on the next phase of their journey. What a moment of opportunity, to bask in celebration and move fearlessly toward change, embracing the next unknown.

Having recently published a book on the same topic, titled Embracing the Unknown, I found my mind swirling with the bits of wisdom I might offer in the midst of the pomp and circumstance of this sort of occasion. Here are my "Pomp, meet Circumstance" takeaways for this season of graduation, transition, and change:

1. Stay curious. This will not be the first, nor the last, time you find yourself at an intersection of transition and change. Staying curious means letting go of judgment, asking instead what can be learned. Lean into questions rather than make assumptions, and notice the glimmers that may appear - moments that may spark excitement and joy. Although each circumstance may look different, you can always choose the "pomp" you bring to important moments of transition.

2. Trust Yourself. It's tempting to think that you need to look outward to develop the skills and resources you need to thrive on your path forward, but the tools you need are already inside you. Adaptability, Resilience, and Courage have led you to this moment, and these tools are the exact same companions that will be ready to call upon as you continue on your way. Lean into the ways you can reframe your circumstances, learn from experience, and continue to show up, even when things get hard. Your strengths will help you show up as the person you most want to be.

3. Lead with authenticity. Authenticity means honoring who, what, and where we are at any given moment. Leading with authenticity means offering space for others to be fully who they are while extending compassion for the way(s) that our circumstances influence how we show up each day. In this way, we can become visionary leaders who honor and value wholeness - something that will inevitably change the world.

4. Choose to choose. From friends to business decisions, your choices are yours to make. Actively choosing to choose is intentionality in action. Ultimately, it’s not whether choices are right or wrong - it’s just about making them. Each moment of intentional choice is a radical act of empowerment that takes you closer to your next right step on the pathway forward.

5. Embrace your next "here." It's tempting to think that once we get "there" we'll have arrived. Rather than searching for points of arrival to be our final destinations, what happens when we recognize that we've just landed at another jumping-off point? The unknown is just that, unknown. But what if we learn to go willingly? It's about the journey, not just the destination.

This is one of many moments in your life where your circumstances will offer you the opportunity to meet pomp - the celebration of stepping forward into your next unknown.

Your next adventure awaits: take a deep breath and begin. You're already on your way.

Can I change? Yes, you can.

"What's on your mind?"

A simple enough question - one I often take for granted. When I'm sitting with a friend enjoying a catch-up over a cup of coffee it's a great way to reconnect and get a better sense of what's been happening in their world. After the past few years, I now recognize how important (and valuable) this question can be.

Three years ago this month, the world was thrown into the great unknown. A series of unprecedented and unexpected changes were thrust upon us all. Our health, safety, and sense of solid ground were challenged. It wasn't easy. After a few turbulent months of reorientation, things started to change. A staggering amount of adaptation, resiliency, and courage helped us arise from the ashes, putting a new spin on situations and circumstances that were far from optimal.

At every layer of our lives, we were shifted, and things haven't been the same since. "Zoom" became more than just a word to describe a fast-moving vehicle - it became a household name and a portal to a new way of connecting. The QR code, invented in 1994, made its splash onto the scene: according to Statista, there were over 75.8 million scans in 2021, and 2022 statistics were up over 400%. For some families, it was a struggle to survive; for others, it was a chance to redefine priorities and reclaim a sense of purpose and direction in the world. More than ever, it seems that our world is ripe for new ideas and full of inspiration to dream bigger, think bolder, and take risks.

Sometimes I want to ask the world the same question: "What's on your mind?" I often wonder what would happen if we could take the collective pulse of our society and what we might learn in the process.

Well, thanks to our handy friend, Google, now we can.

It may not be a secret that technology can track what we search for, but what might be interesting to note is what we can learn. Google Trends looks at the questions on our minds, the ways we are inspired, and the experiences that define us. In 2022, the question of the year was "Can I change?" Following 2021's question of the year, "Can I heal?", it may not come as a surprise that the current topic on the minds of many individuals and organizations has been one of change.

In their year-in-review video, Google shares "As the world reemerged, people searched for new ideas, new possibilities, and new ways forward."

(Watch the full video here.)

Change - and the unknown - can be scary. But with the right tools and strategies, change is something we can not only embrace but enjoy.

Being adequately resourced is one of the most critical aspects of navigating change. It’s tempting to think we need to turn outward to collect the tools we can use to support our process. But before looking for resources and tools we think we don’t have, we can look to the past to remind us of three major tools in our toolbox: Adaptability, Resilience, and Courage.

This "ARC" of tools gives us a starting point for navigating a path that isn’t often straight. If that's the case, our tools need to be flexible. These three tools—Adaptability, Resilience, and Courage—give us an “ARC” that allows us to move into change armed to take on whatever lies ahead.

Circumstances keep shifting and we keep adapting.

Barriers and roadblocks may (temporarily) hold us back, but we use each opportunity to get up, show up, and try again.

Even when things are uncertain and unknown, we take a step forward with courage.

If the last few years have shown us anything, it was that we are stronger than we knew and braver than we thought. Using tools and strategies, we can begin to construct our future. What lies ahead is a path that we can build, one step at a time.

Can we change?

Yes. We can, and we will.

Balance and the Next Step Forward

Certainly with the year we’ve been experiencing, many of us are just trying to make it through each day. We don’t always have the luxury of finding moments to reflect on the great unknown. But what if there’s a way to find some joy in the thrill of choosing to step into the space of the unknown? Trust your body. I'm fully aware that you may feel like you're not only precariously balanced on a tightrope, but under a hot spotlight inside a circus tent. But. Trust your body. If we focus on tuning in to our body and taking it one step at a time, the next right step in our path often begins to emerge. Stepping forward into the unknown requires patience and is a process...but we might surprise ourselves - feeling positive anticipation or perhaps even rediscover a sense of joy in the journey.

The body possesses a natural intelligence that we often ignore - we consider ourselves thinking beings who feel, when we are actually feeling beings who occasionally think. Note: I'd love to take credit for this line, but it isn't my original thought. It came from the authors of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. In short, instead of asking us to ignore the very real obstacles and societal pressures that stand between us and our well-being, they explain with compassion and optimism what we’re up against - and how we can be empowered to create positive change.*

I felt an immediate connection to this topic, as in my work I often talk about cycles and the importance of taking time to consider them when it comes to our habits - specifically the idea of the cycle of "Before, During and After.” We find ourselves most often recognizing (or catching ourselves!) in afters, as hindsight is of course, quite an enlightening tool. Focusing on the process of habit, learning, and unlearning we can work on changing by not only affecting the during of any situation, but really looking at the before; or, what starts the cycle in the first place. This can be tricky because it requires balance. Recognizing where we’ve been, where we are, and not forgetting to consider where we want to go. Sometimes we have to stop and actively create the opportunity to establish a before...something not impossible but that requires intentionality. When we stop we have choices and can create opportunities to identify these before moments. In doing so, we create space for true change and both interrupt the loop of habit creation while completing this cycle, and reinforce the value of this practice

It’s often reflected to me that something as small as a change in mindset, posture, the way you walk or even sit can become a catalyst for other changes in your life. "There are certain habits that, once broken or adopted, tend to produce a landslide of other positive changes. These are known as 'keystone habits.' They reveal that successful change doesn’t depend on getting every single thing right, but instead relies on identifying a few key priorities and fashioning them into powerful levers." (This and other thoughts on habit come from an article on The Psychology of Habit, with excerpts drawn from Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit.)

So whether you feel like you are precariously balanced on a tightrope or caught in a cycle you can’t seem to break, know that there are ways to shift into a different space. Focus on the next step, exploring your balance, and your path may just illuminate as you go!

*excerpt from an online description of “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

Taking Time to Think about R&R

Good old fashioned, R&R. When was the last time you thought about rest and relaxation? It's certainly been an extraordinary time where the idea of self-care and rejuvenation are not as easy to connect with, create, or feel. 

But actually, I'm not talking about that kind of R&R today. I'm talking about reaction and response. And the differences we can explore in that space. I've been thinking about the perhaps subtle but important distinction in the comparison of these two terms: Reaction and Response. Reaction is a natural process; albeit a fairly habitual one. Response however appears as something a bit different - and implies making a choice of some sort. In breaking this down a bit further, we are reminded that reaction can have levels. (We can over-react.) So does response - we can respond thoughtfully or impulsively. Of course I am not implying that one of these is better than the other. We can react well to a situation and respond poorly, so one does not necessarily supersede the other. But in the thought landscape we inhabit, I believe another important part of this distinction is the idea that we often react in parts, but response is often more a product of the whole. 

This tendency exhibits itself in all ways and manners - when pain or an issue occurs we often focus on it without consideration of all the factors involved. One one hand we can be grateful for this evolutionary tool for efficiency! It's an indicator that our system is attuned to our environment and able to adapt - a skill that especially now is very needed. However if we react to one condition without considering a total response, we must also consider the long term effects. After all, when our system is in this mode of reaction, it isn't concerned with sustainability and longevity...it's foremost concern is working through the current task, issue, or question at hand. 

The creation of some sense of predictable routine is something the system appreciates, but reaction can also easily wind its way in to our lives as new habit - occasionally as habit(s) we don't necessarily choose. We’re at a point in the year where the changes around us move quickly and swiftly. I'll ask to you to consider the following questions that might highlight reaction and response: 

• How does your body react or respond to changes in the world around you? When it gets cold, do you find yourself scrunching your shoulders more? When you begin pulling out heavier clothes and shoes, what do you feel more (or less) of?

• How often (if ever) do you look at the choices you make in regards to your day to day habits?

• Does anything change now that much of life has transitioned to ‘virtual’? How does your body respond to the way you engage with your computer? Does the volume of your voice change adjust to this environment differently?

• What physical reactions or responses occur when you read or hear good news? Bad news? Talk to someone you are excited about? Have a difficult conversation? 

It can be tempting to reach for "reasons" or solutions outside of ourselves - place a reactionary blame on other people or situations; but there is both empowerment and comfort in knowing that we are the sole proprietors of our ability to move forward. And we possess the tools within us to do so. As I've often reminded my students, a focus on these thinking principles is much more and deeper than how we sit or how we stand. These activities just happen to be simple, meaningful, and accessible opportunities to safely explore and access both new learnings and rediscovering what our systems may have efficiently adjusted over time. This brings us back to the bigger picture connection with ourselves and our world, and even in a time which requires quite a bit of response, we can work on honing these skills. 

Of course, we all do need the other kind of R&R too…one choice at a time keeps us moving forward.

We always have a choice; and our choices allow us the opportunity to change.

Conscious Connections

Life consists of connections. We are constantly engaging with our world, those around us and even ourselves. In fact, these points of intersection become defining in not only giving us insight, but moving our lives forward. They appear in all shapes, forms, and ways - all bringing with them a sense of potential.

If we begin with the fact that there are connections happening all around us, questions emerge:

How do we view them? 

What do we do with them?

Do we consider them opportunities or challenges?

Do we look at connections in our lives with curiosity or with skepticism? 

The truth of the matter is, we must begin by establishing where we are. Only then can we determine where we want to go. I’ve often spoke about the idea that “we don’t know what we don’t know.” And this gives us a starting point. Pathways then begin to emerge: some from connections which we have already established and explored, others that seem to be newly illuminated. Either way, we start to see them differently. 

At times, we can get caught in a loop of confusion and overwhelm if we feel we “don’t know”, or experience a kind of paralysis that results from being unsure of how to process the seemingly unending options in front of us. But acknowledging we don’t know is sometimes the best way to start, especially if it’s where we are. If we start with where we are, we've already made an important decision, and in doing so things begin to open up.

We give ourselves the freedom to simply start. 

In this simple act, we give permission, which in turn allows the process to be not just a reaction, but an interaction. An exploration. Even a dance. The inevitable give and take, back and forth of the journey can then start to be something we not only embrace, but enjoy. 

So ask yourself today: Where am I? And what can I choose to begin? 

Pause for a moment, and see what pathways appear. Take a deep breath and start moving. You're on your way. 

"The journey between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place." Barbara DeAngelis

Learning to Change

“Change is the only constant in life” -Heraclitus

I’ll be honest in admitting that I’ve never quite been sure whether to be utterly annoyed by this fact or it gives me an incredible amount of hope. Truth be told, things always change, and there’s an absolute bittersweet quality to this fact - in times of struggle, change is a welcome friend and in good times, change can seem a cruel reality. The dichotomy of change is that it happens whether we want it to or not; but we do actually have a choice when it comes to managing it.

Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher of the above quote, also had another worth considering:

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.

After all, let’s just start by considering ourselves at a human level and in how change manifests with a very simple tool: our breath. It’s estimated we experience around 23,000 breath cycles per day! Of course, this drastically varies by person, size and a number of other factors, but let’s just take a moment to marvel at the fact that in this startling large number, no two breaths are exactly the same. Much like the river’s constant flow, we too are in a state of constant change. Even in moments of “stillness” movement still lives and breathes.

So, back to the topic at hand. Can we ‘learn’ to change?

Well, if experience is our best teacher, these last few months have certainly proven that the answer would be a resounding YES. (Of course, whether we had much choice with regard to this change is a whole other topic!) What we usual don’t notice in this process of change is just that…the process. Any activity has what we can call three stages: 1.) the BEFORE, 2.) DURING, and 3.) the AFTER. We’re really good at catching the after (hence the well-used phrase that hindsight is 20/20). Sometimes if we’re really connected, present and focused we can tap in to the during. But the before is tricky.

This is partially because we don’t compartmentalize anything we do - and (back to the constantly flowing river image) it all becomes quite fluid. Which means an after is actually also a before; and a before is also an after. So when we’re aiming to tap into this process of processing change, one of our aims might be to focus on just letting there BE a before. Create a little more space; a moment to establish that we choose to engage in part of the cycle of our all-the-time flow. Or just sitting with the after and for a few moments, check in with how that feels.

In some ways I guess it becomes an “one after the other, all together” sort of experience. And maybe that’s the learning. A little like stepping into the river and seeing where you end up once you cross over to the other side.