Welcome back to day 6 of the from adversity to opportunity series.

Our intention here is to empower you to make better decisions during this uncertain time.

Yesterday, we talked about having radical compassion for others, and what tactical things you could do to create more space for people in your life. 

today I want to talk about the three phases of transition, and what you could do in these 3 phases 

Let’s jump right into today’s topic. 

Chinese people say there are 5 major transitions in life in the human beings experience. 

It doesn’t matter how rich/poor you are, how old/young you are, how tall/short you are, how muscular/skinny you are. 

Getting born, getting old, getting sick, getting separated, and ultimately death. 

And in all transitions

There are 3 phases

There is the end of the old

 there is the in-between space between the old and the new

there is the new beginning of the new

Keep in mind in any given time, we all experience some form of these transitions. Changing of external circumstances as well as internal identities. 

Why is it useful to know this?

1) Well, so you can know where you are at in these 3 phases. Not to make yourself wrong. Not to rush through the phases. And navigate for optimal results.

Maybe you are in the 1st phase – you are finishing the old still. It’s not dissimilar to someone going through the grieving process. Not only do you need to make new decisions based on the new market conditions but you may need to change your identity as a business based on new market conditions. 

Maybe you need to shut your business down

Maybe you need to let go your employees

Maybe you need to modify your business to serve the new and different demands

For those being caught off guard. Denial, sadness, anger, panic, fear is normal. For those who may been preparing, excitement, glee is normal too.

Whatever emotion you have is fine because it’s part of being human. 

Maybe you are in the 2nd phase – you are done grieving and you’ve accepted reality for what it is. But you’ve not yet found a new direction yet for your business. You are in-between space. Perhaps you feel a bit lost, confused about what’s right for you.

Or perhaps you’ll say that you are bored with this extra time and space.

Maybe you are in the 3rd phase – you’ve found a new direction. And you’ve found trusted guides and travel buddies to help you navigate in unfamiliar terrains. And you are not too concerned about the outside noise.

Why else is it useful to know this?

 

2)  social media amplifies everyone’s emotional experience. Knowing where you are empowers you to have more sovereignty of your own experience rather than being influenced by other people’s narratives.

I want to focus this episode on the 2nd phase – the in between space.

This is a space of neutrality.

Perhaps you are lost. 

Perhaps you are confused.

Perhaps you are bored.

Perhaps you are zen / and grounded.

There’s just a space of nothing. 

Rather than filling this space with trivial things like going to the grocery stores 5 times, or video grames, or netflix shows, or rather than jumping right back to familiar tactics, you could use it to on important but not urgent tasks you’ve always say you don’t have time for. Use this free time to get CURIOUS new ways to corona-proof yourself and reinvent your business.

Here are some actionable ideas to stimulate new ideas, options, or solutions:

1. Sit in the silence and listen to the whisper from your higher self. My experience of my higher self is rarely loud voices. Most of the time, Truth speaks to you quietly. Perhaps just a moment before you open your eyes when you wake up, or just moments before you fall asleep. These moments are precious, because those are the moments when you can finally hear the whispers in your mind.
2. Perhaps you are in general good spirit but your mental chatters are loud to think. One thing you could do is purge every thought you have onto your journal. Write them onto the pages without judgement or craft. Just pour out everything on the pages. Write 3 pages per day the moment you get up. Think of it mental windshield wipers clearing your mind. When you get to quietude, you’ll be able to see much more clearly what the next action is.
3. Explore passions you’ve let go because life got in the way. Perhaps you let go of your love for music, your love of art, your love for writing, your love of poetry, Perhaps you always wanted to write a book. 
4. Perhaps you’ve decided to uplevel your business.Think about new business models, new systems, new processes. Rest assured this kind of existential crisis will come again, just like the seasons of the year. Seasonality is the law of nature. Just like life: being born, getting old, getting sick, separations, and death, it’s the circle of life, right? Now that you have a little bit more downtime, think about how you can redesign your business to serve your higher purpose.
5. Perhaps you want to connect with people you haven’t connected to in quite some time. Maybe some friends that you always thought about, but never call? Or family that you really wanted to give him a message of appreciation and love, but you only do it during holiday seasons? This is the time to actually do that, to really show that you care to your clients, mentors, friends, family? The usual excuse: ”I’m so busy, I don’t have time” doesn’t quite apply anymore. Now is the time to reach out to them.
6. Perhaps you are looking ahead to explore new trends and opportunities in virtualization. Because of Covid19, we are not going back to the old way of doing things anymore. 

 

In summary, you my friend have an opportunity here to treasure this extra time and space to pursue things that are important but not urgent.

Most of the time we live our lives busy running from one place to another.  

Most of the time our mind is so busy,  we don’t hear our higher self.

But once in a while, we ask ourselves the right question and 

Pay attention internally and externally and capture lightning. 

in moments of clarity,

We see a roadmap that’ll lead us to the next milestone in vivid details. 

And I believe these moments of quietness is the blessing from this Covid19 crisis.

Go out and experiment with any of these ideas. And let me know what you tried and what results you received. This is the time to boldly experiment with new things that you never had done before.

AND when you notice yourself back in panic, it’s ok. Go listen to earlier episodes about radical self-care and radical self-compassion. So you don’t take action based on fear or panic.

Whatever seed you sow is whatever fruit you’ll receive.

If you plant seeds based on panic and fear, you’ll perpetuate more fear and panic later on.

If you come from a place of curiosity, purpose and meaning then you will perpetuate that curiosity, purpose and meaning. That’s my deep belief. 

This once in a lifetime opportunity. Use it well you’ll come out stronger, wiser, fitter. The choice is yours.

Alright my friends, until next time, stay safe. I’ll talk to you soon.