Feel free to use these exercises in your own personal journal writing. You may choose to cut and paste them into your own Word document for a computer archive or print out one of these pages and keep them in your journal.

Change Brings Vulnerability, then Wisdom
by Sue Meyn

ow many of you feel that you manage change well? Change is, of course, the most constant dynamic we have going on in this world. What does it even mean, to manage change well?

We can help ourselves manage change more effectively by taking on an attitude of being proactive rather than reactive. By so doing we can choose to control the changes we face, at least to a degree. But behind our proactivity we also need some confidence---trust---that we will be able to handle those parts that we have not planned and over which we have no control. Big words we are talking about here----change, proactive, trust, confidence. These are all words I connect to having power. So lets say that to manage change well one must know where one gets her or his power.

One of the things I notice about both myself and the people I work with, is that when we are going through changes we often feel quite vulnerable. When we are vulnerable it sometimes feels like we don't have much power available to us. More than once I have experienced myself and friends returning to feeling inadequacies, fears and missing pieces from our childhood. How do we get past these and get back into our power?

In William Bridges book, Transitions, he refers to the experience of returning to chaos whenever we go through change. It IS a necessary part of the process and the more of those experiences we go through the greater wisdom we gain. So that's a payoff, but we have to pay attention to what we encounter in the chaos or our opportunities might be lost or delayed.

Bridges too, recommends journal writing when one is going through change. It helps us to stay focused on where we are. It helps us to feel more centered and is the beginning of our new history. Try right now just making a list of changes you have encountered over the last year. Be gentle and light with yourself as you acknowledge all of your opportunities to grow.

Perhaps you are in the midst of some change right now---it's hard not to be in today's world. Take a few moments to describe the changes going on around you or pick one from the last year to review. Note whether you feel reactive, proactive or both. Have you experienced your vulnerabilities rising to the surface? Hope so. This is the great gift of change.

Consider that the fears that have come up are part of your child self, within you. We all have this aspect of ourselves inside, even though we have our adult selves inside, too. Often when we are feeling that young part of ourselves it feels like it is in control, but its important for us to know that the rest of our selves are there, too. First, allow this vulnerable part of you to speak (or to write) and say just what it wants to say. Listen to it as though it is a very young child who you adore. Once you have listened to what it has to say, then shift to your very wisest part and respond to the child. Your wise and kind self will be able to create some peace for the child. Let this Dialogue continue as long as either side has something to say. As you do this you will begin to integrate the old unfinished business from your past with the wisdom that is the gift of all your changes. You may have to do this frequently during your change process, but your power, trust and confidence will grow each time you tap in.

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