Change Cycle Example
If you aren’t familiar with the Change Cycle, start here: “What is the Change Cycle?”. Then come back for an example.
This is my own experience with a change in the emotional/mental health area of my life. At the time, I felt physically well, my career and relationships were not ideal, but were okay. Mentally, I felt stuck, sluggish, and unhappy. I was suffering and couldn’t put my finger on the cause, but I knew I needed to do something.
Catalyst
My catalyst was an “Opportunity” - I made the choice to seek help from someone outside circle. I looked for a therapist and found one who offered a coaching program that sounded perfect. They weren’t taking clients, but referred me to someone else and we agreed to work together. Even though I had made the choice, things didn’t go super smoothly right away.
Dissolve
I cried every week for two months in our sessions. I spent a lot of time between sessions sitting quietly, reading, practicing yoga, journaling, spending time outdoors and cuddling with my dog.
With the support of my coach, I identified the roles I played, beliefs I held, and my familial and cultural conditioning. I learned what all these things were, how they impacted my life and my choices. I started to dissolve some of these things, but what I worked on the most was dissolving my lack of self awareness related to these areas.
Dream
As the dissolving slowed down, I slowly started to consider alternatives. What could I do differently? What was possible? What did I enjoy doing? What roles were mine and which could I let go of? I sat every day in Quiet Time for at least 20 minutes, and free wrote in my journal afterwards to start answering these questions.
I noticed where I was curious and followed that as openly as I could. I noticed an interested in creativity and had ideas of activities to explore. I realized that I didn’t want to wait to move out of the city, and started to look at real estate listings and towns in different provinces. I imagined what it would be like to live in those homes and places.
Act
I moved to the third phase where I started to take action, by signing myself up for a writing class. I decided I wanted to buy a used DSLR camera and the next day a friend had one for sale. By the weekend, I was writing and taking photos.
My real estate searches became more focused and I had a clearer sense of what “No” felt like in my Body Compass. I went to a yoga retreat, and that was the “Yes”. The messages were clear, sitting quietly on bedrock, looking out over the water that I was meant to move to a place with water, rocks, and trees. A place where I could prioritize time outdoors.
I found myself drawn to clear out my home, preparing it for sale. I narrowed down my search to a couple options and had an opportunity to stop and explore one on my way somewhere else. The ‘No’ was so loud as I approached the town, that I didn’t even need to look around. I ended up buying a house, that was a full on ‘Yes’, in a town I’d never visited before I came to view this house and a few others.
The small actions of writing classes and taking photos felt like preparation for the BIG change. Was my intention to move when I sought help? Absolutely not! I thought I was fine in my current location and home, but once I started following and acting on my curiousity the idea of moving felt right.
This isn’t to say that every change cycle will result in a BIG change, but it does highlight that we can’t predict what’s going to happen when we enter one of these cycles and follow our Body Compass when making decisions. The smaller changes had a big impact too, and were just as valuable in feeling happier and like I was moving forward again.
Adjust
Once I was unpacked, became familiar with the town, and made this house my home, I made small adjustments. I explored other creative activities and rotated between writing, photography, and working with yarn. I experienced changes in other areas of life that overlapped with this one.
I volunteered and started moving my body more and spent time at the beach. All things that fill my cup and, at the moment, I’m feeling happy and flowy.
But, I know that another change is coming, maybe not in this particular are of life, but I can feel it!
“At any given time we are either composing or dismantling the forms and stories that make up our lives - sometimes both at once. Whether it’s the end of an era and we are closing off a project or grieving a relationship, or the start of a new idea or attitude, we are always in some stage of generativity and decay.”
