Part 3: The 5 Stages of Transformation: Where Are You On The Arrow?

Welcome to Part 3 of a series on Turning Tricky Transitions into Transformation. In the last post, (Go here to read Parts 1 & 2) I shared the difference between the process of transitions versus the outcome of transformation.

Transition refers to the process of crossing from one state to another, while transformation refers to the deeper change of form or identity that results from that crossing.

For if we misunderstand where we are in the process, we often misinterpret what we’re feeling—especially stress. Confusing the crossing with the outcome often leads people to misinterpret normal stress as a problem when it is actually evidence that change is underway. This stress is your brain helping you adapt or respond to the change it is sensing as you navigate the transitions inherent in the transformation process.

I have offered various viewpoints for understanding how transitions are a requisite part of the inevitable shifts and turns we experience throughout life, with the aim of encouraging the appropriate mental preparations and expectations needed for transformative adaptation to change.

Let’s turn to the toolbox now: A visual model to gain and sustain perspective in each stage of the transitional process that can lead to genuine transformation.

Can you identify where you are on the arrow currently?

Early in my career as a life coach, I realized I needed a widely applicable depiction of the universal change process in which all of my clients were engaged when they sought out a coaching relationship. What started as sketches of an arrow on napkins at coffee shops during live sessions with clients, morphed into this most current iteration. I have found this dynamic arrow to be a reliable guide that consistently repeats over time, in both my own life and in my work with clients.

Taking a closer look at the five stages, the table below highlights the salient elements that identify what is happening in each phase.

If you can bring to mind a current or past personal experience of releasing an old pattern and embodying a new one, the wording of these distinct stages may be felt somatically (in your body), with each description resonating within you.

Where do you think you are in the Transformation Process?

➡️ Noticing ➡️ Releasing ➡️ Navigating ➡️ Integrating ➡️ Embodying?

I hope this practical tool can become as applicable for you as it has been for me and the coaching clients with whom I have come alongside. By now, I can see the arrow in my mind and quickly identify where I am located in the present situation or transition I am experiencing. Identification is half the battle in moving through the disruption of transitions to encountering real, lasting change.

Stay tuned...In the next post, we will circle back to Jim’s paddleboarding experience, and observe this lifelong growth process at higher level, where application moves towards integration, which is another word for wholeness.

Meanwhile, I invite you to apply the Transformation Model to your current life and consider these questions:

1️⃣ As you reflect on your current season of life, which stage of the Transformation Model do you most identify with right now: Noticing, Releasing, Navigating, Integrating, or Embodying? What clues helped you recognize that stage?

2️⃣ What might you still be trying to hold onto that this transition is inviting you to release in order for growth or transformation to occur?

3️⃣ If this current transition ultimately leads to transformation, what new perspective, identity, habit, or way of living do you sense may be emerging within you?

**My offer: If you have been stirred to further explore where you are in your story arc, and would like a professional partner to come alongside you, I invite you to contact me.

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Blessed to play a part ~

g