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.