All About Transitions

by Alisa Peskin-Shepherd | Jan 29, 2018 | Family Law

It’s no coincidence that I named my firm Transitions Legal when we opened several years ago. I see life as a series of transitions from one stage to the next, which means no awful endings and no difficult restarts. Just flowing transitions from now to then.

Recently, I read an insightful article on OM Times called Working through Transitions. This article focuses on the time in-between as a perfect pause to ponder what your life is about – and whether you want to make any changes.

Think about the transition from before a game to the game itself to afterwards. You think about what to eat and drink (or not), you put on the proper clothes and gear, you don’t tire yourself out, and you arrive early to the arena or field. Perhaps there are nervous butterflies in your stomach about the game ahead, but you know you can do it. You don’t know the outcome, you don’t know how you’ll do, so there is some anxiety, but excitement, too.

Then you play. The minute you step on the field, the nervousness disappears and you are in the moment, looking for the ball or the puck, moving in your strategic position to contribute to the eventual outcome. You play your hardest, grow tired, out of breath, take breaks so other athletes can take the field, and at the end, you shake hands with the opposing team and say, “Good game!”

When the game is done, you peel off sweaty socks and change into more comfortable clothing. Perhaps you go to a nearby pub with the team to share a celebratory drink or nosh. Perhaps you go home and chill. Whatever it is, you take time to come down from the adrenaline rush and the high of winning or the despair of losing. You take time to transition, to move through mindsets, until you’re ready for the next phase.

This is a microcosm of what life should be – what it is, really. The transitions are incredibly important – as is this notion that one phase of life simply ends so another can begin.

Sometimes we put too much emphasis on keeping things in familiar formation. The status quo. What we know. What we don’t know can be incredibly beneficial. If we dare to view life as a series of transitions, then we can let go of attachment to specific outcomes or familiar routines and go with the flow.

It’s the best approach, in my humble opinion.