Bloggin' along ...
πΎπHow well do you manage change?π±π·
For me, it’s been a very rewarding summer thus far. After nearly a decade living in my previous residence, my life partner and I did what most people who are planning to grow a future together do: we combined our assets and purchased a home together where we’ve planted some new seeds to enhance our mutual dreams. It’s been a year now since the realtor unlocked the front door of our together home and we haven’t regretted our decision to make this lifestyle change.
With change comes discomfort and the need to grow new ways to do old things.
How about all of us who have become accustomed to the work-from-home lifestyle, but really weren’t too sold on it when it was initially mandated? What did you learn about yourself? Probably that you are very capable of change when it is required. I found this article in MediaBistro, which is really just a pithy little checklist to measure if you are right for working from home, or not. Some of us are definitely not cut out to work from home and that's okay. And now that the option to return to a more formal work environment is in front of us, many are jumping at the option. But the vacancy rates in many commercial buildings in downtown cores across the world are proof that many of us are resisting returning to a formal workstyle because we’ve adapted to the changes and are now reluctant to leave the conveniences of work-life-home balance that we’ve worked so hard to create.
Life’s biggest changes come in tiny packages.
A year ago, just after this big move, our first granddaughter was born. As with most grandbabies who are the first to enter the landscape of the greater family, she became the center of all our lives. Having a small helpless baby to dote over, talk about, care for and love is a great way to detract from one’s own challenges. There’s always an excuse to shift the priority to the baby. I quickly remembered how much energy it takes to care for a small child. Being “Glamma” has forced me to examine my own fitness, health and lifestyle.
Distractions are awesome!
With the introduction by a close friend to Dr Joey Shulman’s diet ("The Cityline Diet"), I made the choice to eliminate gluten from my diet. My friend, who is a Cancer Conqueror Extraordinaire for more than a year now, was proof of how successfully one can shed pounds this way and was the key accelerator of the process of my own initial weight loss. After losing my initial 10 pounds and several inches, I hit a proverbial roadblock and felt a bit stuck, so I took it upon myself to switch up the program. I discovered The Livy Method (Gina Livy) via my hair stylist (and a closet fitness junky) who shared with me the core concepts of increasing water intake to ignite detoxification, the trick of eating often to stimulate metabolism, eat selectively and specifically to create healthy patterns of digestion and detoxification. I’ve lost 20 pounds so far and a total of 13+ inches of fat across my body! I find myself smiling more now that I feel better in my own skin and keeping up with my one-year-old granddaughter is now much easier, too.
Job changes are very stressful and consuming.
More than a year ago now, just before the big house move, I was contracted to work full-time for a business development/incubator agency as their senior copywriter. For me, this was a new space to live in every day as I have been independent (self-employed) my entire career. Flitting from client to client, team huddle to team huddle, industry to industry was a huge learning curve for someone who’s been running her own ship for more than 17+ years. Truthfully, the challenge was very rewarding, and I did learn a lot about myself and how others perceived me as a teammate and professional. When my contract ended on my one-year anniversary there, I was showered with love notes and praises from all corners of the teams. My heart was sad but full. Undaunted, I know full well that the changes ahead would advance me in some positive way, so I never mourned the loss of my salary. Since then, my resume writing business has accelerated; I’ve been able to spend a lot more time as Glamma and so much more time outside enjoying our huge new yard where I have planted several gardens. I have also joined a new corporate team as a professional writer.
Keeping up with technology is imperative.
One of the gifts of securing this full-time salaried role was the abundance of access and exposure I got to new technology, all of which looks great on my updated resume. A few years ago, I was a huge fan of spin classes, but that changed and that industry is working very hard to regenerate. Many of you may have jumped on the Peloton bandwagon during the past couple of years to maintain your own fitness. I have heard amazing things about the program and its options but have personally never tried Peloton. Just this week I read, however, that the entire Peloton organization is laying off more than 800 employees due to profit loss and restructuring.
So, in the thread of changes and positivity, I am grateful for the many changes this past year had brought me because it has forced me to be uncomfortable, frustrated at times, not always in control, and required me to create new ways to do my normal stuff …like where to walk my dog every morning, or which markets to shop for the freshest foods in my neighbourhood, and learn the names of my new neighbours, or adjust to the sounds on the street outside my window while I work at my desk: the laughing of small children at the child development center across the street, the wailing of sirens and the rumblings by of diesel trucks and motorcycles on the busy street in front of my residence.
I hope you all have embraced change positively also. We’ve all heard the cliché many times:
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
In peace,
Liane
