Transformation

Transformation

We’ve all made a few transformations in our lives, and we’ll have to make a few more too: tot to child, child to teenager, teenager to adult; apprentice to journeyman; single to married; married to divorced or widowed; childless to parent; parent to mentor; student to worker; working to retired; youngest to oldest; … the list goes on and on. Some we make willingly, and some surprise us and, perhaps, we don’t handle them as well as we could.

In our management consulting work, we saw company after company that needed to make a transformation and just wasn’t up to the task. If they even saw the need for a change, many took baby steps rather than make the large leap needed to sustain them. Others thought about or studied their situation for so long, the opportunity to make the change at reasonable costs past them by. Here are a few names just so you know a few of the folks we’re talking about: Wang Laboratories; Polaroid; AT&T; Kodak; IBM; and U.S. Steel. These companies are gone or shadows of their former selves. They didn’t make the transformations they needed to when the time came.

I think there are many parallels between companies like these, and our individual need for transformation. Life can change very quickly, meaning that we need to adapt with equal dexterity. We need to be ready to transform ourselves in some way just as quickly. We will need to break away from the orthodox and straight-forward way we’ve done things, leave our comfort zones, and give up prevailing dogmas.

So here are a few “prescriptions” regarding your own transformations.

1. Avoid fixed routines. We love our rituals and create them continually: spaghetti on Tuesdays, lunch with a friend the first of the month, a physical exam once a year, a peck on the cheek with a friend to say goodbye. Unfortunately, our rituals or routines can prevent us from seeing the shifts and changes in the world we need to adapt to. Be open to new ways to see the world; seek them out. Ask others what they see about your life, that you don’t. Where have you set up arbitrary boundaries you need to break down?

2. Be aware of when you are “fighting life.” When things aren’t going your way, this is a signal that some kind of transformation is needed: in how you do something, in the way you think about it, or in whom you involve in it. When life gets hard, it’s time for an examination of why, and then it’s time for a transformation. When you are soaring, go with the flow and ride the wave.

3. Move beyond the ego. Our egos have a desire for self-preservation; they believe that the present state is good enough, particularly if they feel on top of things – in control. Our egos lead us into comfortable niches, where minor changes are thought to be adequate to the task when really more radical transformations are required. You become the proverbial ‘boiling frog.’ Parking our ego and becoming aware seem to be crucial steps in figuring out just how big a transformation we need to make.

4. Be bold. Eventually, a time for action must come. When that happens don’t settle for a half-hearted, mediocre result. Don’t try to just stay even or bask in the easy life. Think of yourself in the midst of a challenge. Rise to the occasion. Move beyond self-doubt – don’t even let it enter your mind. Know you have the power within you to complete the transformation successfully. Be your best. Take action. Understand that fate is what life deals you, and destiny is what you do with it. Fulfill your highest destiny.

5. Engage the whole “you.” When I’ve had problems and only bring the ‘material me’ to the table to deal with it, I end up with a set of solutions that don’t measure up to the task. Instead, bring your whole mind-body-spirit to the transformation; bring the you that is capable of peak experiences, capable of unlimited potential, and capable of a unity with the spiritual and creative universe in which we live. Allow yourself to transcend the problems with your true metaphysical nature.

6. Expect to be uncomfortable. Even simple change takes you through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, exploration, and acceptance. Transformational change is more dramatic, and you can expect part of you to resist and complain as you transit from old to new. The future will be tougher for a while. The ‘old you’ won’t even be there to deal with things any more; they’ll be a ‘new you’ somewhere between where you were and where you want to be, and all that will be uncomfortable.

7. Live in the Now. Worries about the future won’t help you transform, nor will carrying luggage from your past. The past is what it is – a prelude to this moment. You can’t change it, and fretting about it doesn’t help you now. Move on! Love the moment for what it is. Use it to take a step in your transformation.

Namasté and Love,

This website is to stimulate your spiritual thinking in the hope that it will contribute to your spiritual growth. The author invites your comments and critiques by reply e-mail to bob@futuremoons.com.