New Beginnings

Recalibrating your life is not quite as easy as our GPS makes it. Throughout life there will be times when we have to recalibrate because something unexpected happens. Maybe it’s a new career, a new home, a new city, a new car, a new relationship, a new baby added to the family, or the loss of a child.

With the recent loss of our son, Hank, my family and I are in the process of keeping it going. We are trying to create our “new normal.” Sounds kinda weird because I’ve never viewed normal as a desired place to strive for. But a new normal is what we seek, and I’ve come to realize it won’t happen until we welcome a new beginning. Here are just a few of the things we can expect to encounter in the process.

Resist
New beginnings struggle getting started when we don’t welcome them. We resist the new because the old felt good and was comfortable, or so we thought. It’s what we don’t see that blocks us from making a true assessment.

Give it back
When something important to you is taken away, it’s natural to not embrace the new because you’re focused on what you lost. Like a child, we whine and think nothing but, “Give it back. It’s mine!“

Progress
Accepting a new beginning is like planting a garden from seed. That’s way different than buying a plant and tossing Miracle Grow on it. It takes patience, nurturing, and time.

Pain
No pain no gain… think about it. What great things in life have happened without first experiencing pain?

WOW
To me, hope is knowing there’s a “WOW” out there.  Nothing big ever comes from small sacrifices or small new beginnings. The bigger your trial… the bigger your WOW. Wait for it. Look for it.

I’ve been inspired by a woman who I’ve coached over the years. She started a new beginning with a new company. After a few years of excellent accomplishments the company reorganized. She was somewhat pushed to the side and given a lower level title. She resisted this new normal; she wanted the old title and responsibilities back.

But with true grit, she recalibrated and accepted her new beginning and pressed onward to establish her new normal. I got a call from her last month. I could feel her WOW. She had been promoted, not back to her old position, but to the level above that! We were both certain this opportunity would not have happened without her going through the pain and learning the trial created.

Don’t say goodbye
Just because we don’t get to live in our old normal doesn’t mean we forget about it. Oh no… it was the season that prepared us to receive the opportunity for a new normal.


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