Transitioning to 2022 with IMPACT

In 2008 when the world collapsed financially – I was running a very successful by appointment fashion studio. I had just received my orders from overseas for winter and the last thing my clients wanted to do is buy new clothes. I had no idea what I was going to do. I panicked and couldn’t think and definitely couldn’t make any decisions. Eventually my mind settled and it was only then that I could think clearly and I made some major decisions that completely changed my life.

The first step doesn't have to be big

My first step, to making my personal (and eventually big) transition, was relatively small, on reflection. I started by creating my first training workshop on Personal Branding. I already had the space (the studio) and I had an audience - my executive clients who were in fear of losing their jobs. My sole mission for these workshops, was to help them gain confidence and stand out and be noticed.

It was the beginning of my transition and sparked my passion for the world of coaching, training and facilitation. I spent the next three years studying to become a coach and the first person I got to work with was myself.

It all starts with you

From my experience, when you work on yourself, the perception of the world around you changes, you begin to see things differently, your awareness becomes heightened, people react to you differently and you begin to see new possibilities.

You may be going through great change, in your work and home life, you may be feeling venerable and unsure, you may also be thinking you want to change everything about your life because you have had time to reflect this year and step off the treadmill for a bit, stand back, observe and take a breath.

Change can happen quickly, change doesn’t discriminate, it cuts across age and gender. When change happens we transition, we move forward, we create a new world, new hope and that can take years and it can last a lifetime. As human beings we are born for change, understanding the process can make it more positive, rewarding and life changing.

Susan Bradley's Framework for Change

Susan Bradley's Ted Talk on Changes Launches Your Next Chapter is a great watch and provides a practical approach by breaking change into four stages: 

1. Anticipation Stage – thinking about a situation that hasn’t even happened yet, you have not dates, no details.  You manage expectations, your own and those of others.
2. Ending Stage – when leaving a job, your home, the death of a loved one. Start to sort stuff out, do a brain dump, make a list, plan, prioritise, and have clarity conversations. In this stage you might go from overwhelm, fatigue, anxiety and a short attention span to calm, being able to start making non essential decisions.
3. Passage stage – Exploring and testing, inventing, tasting, going through confusion and loss of identity, you are sharing your story over and over again to get some clarity which may have your friends and support team getting fatigued. 
4. Re-invention - (this took me 5 year to go through this stage) happens in intervals. We start exploring, inventing, testing, resting, and thinking. You are getting back in the game and moving forward.

My reflection now - what I learned along the way

Survival - I knew I had to take action! I had bills to pay, I had just received $240K of stock and needed to pay for it or lose everything. 

Awareness of my thinking - I had to make decisions fast, right or wrong at the time. I had to decide on what action I was going to take. My biggest decision was to leave the fashion industry that I loved - that transition took 12 months because I had committed to more orders. When dealing with European orders I had to commit 12 months out.

Work out what I wanted - having worked in the skincare and fashion industries, I gained great skills in communicating with others, understanding what they wanted and needed. I knew I wanted to work with people and I knew I wanted to be of service. It's amazing what the world will show you when you start to get clear about what you want. I came across an advertisement for coaching training with the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership and within weeks started my coaching training and haven't looked back. 

Understanding the loss and grief - My whole world changed - I moved to Sydney, I lost my identity and my brand for a period, my whole life was my business, the Ondina brand as I knew it, was gone. I had to start over, I had to build a new identity, create a new purpose and build a new business. I grieved for what I had lost, I became unwell and had to completely change my life - it took me 5 years to get back to feeling that I found myself again but it was all worth it.

What are you working on at changing in your life?

If you are going through great change and not sure what to do next, get in touch and we can work through some ideas on where to start together. 

x Ondina

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash