Every time my toddler learns something new, like amazingly-awesome new, she can’t sleep very well. She rolls around for an hour in her crib before falling asleep or gets up in the night and just looks around, sometimes for hours. It happened when she learned to crawl, walk, walk outside, say words, form sentences, talk in paragraphs, and use the potty.
Small children provide clues into basic human nature. What my daughter is showing is that life transitions, these big changes, have an impact. They take work and energy to process. We need time and space to make the shift.
Adults don’t have to make as many changes as kids. We also don’t seem to be as graceful at growing. Therefore, we may struggle even more under big life changes.
It’s easy to forget that even positive changes are stressful. Starting a new job, moving, buying a house, having a baby, getting a promotion- these are really great things. At the same time, they also have an impact on our stress levels.
Life in the time of transition is unique. It takes mental and physical energy. It sometimes keeps us up at night, trying to figure things out.
Transition is a time of growth. We have to allow time and space for this growth to happen. Quiet time, down time, rest, relaxation are all essential when in transition.
Change, growth, and transition all go together. We need to honor that this requires a lot of attention. How can you create space for growth when you are in transition?
Love this post, Hannah. I think so often when we’re in transition, life becomes even more hectic and we can forget to make room to process and rest and restore. Our little ones teach us so much, don’t they?
Journaling or walking have always been helpful for me in times of transition. There is something about the act of writing down all the tumbling thoughts in my head that helps me to move through hard stuff. Thanks for this post!
Thanks, Lynn, for reading and for the very good suggestions!
It’s funny how we all handle transition. It’s not that easy, is it? Like Lynn, writing helps me sort things through. I think the key is to let ourselves process the change.
I definitely think most people underestimate the amount of impact transition has on them. I’m certainly guilty of this, too. Allowing time in the transition to process actually helps you adapt more quickly than stuffing away the feelings. I’m not sure of the hard science on this, but that’s my observation (and I think I’m right!). Thanks for your thoughts, Jennifer.