“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes
it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
~ Maya Angelou
My last two blog posts covered the first two Phases in Hudson’s four phase Cycle of Renewal; four predictable phases of change that we adults experience in our lives.
A reminder:
Phase 1 is Go For It! -- you’re in a world that works, in sync and creating new possibilities and opportunities, you’re optimistic and energized.
Phase 2 is The Doldrums -- a time when you’re out of sync, stuck, dependent on the past, perhaps in denial or resistant to change.
Leaving The Doldrums and Phase 2 involves either making minor changes in roles or behaviors and transitioning back to Go For It! or making major changes by taking a different and deeper look at your life and entering Phase 3, which Hudson terms Cocooning.
Phase 3 and Cocooning involves turning inward, searching deep for meaning and identity. Taking stock and re-evaluating your life, your roles, your purpose or your passions.
As I mentioned in my post on The Doldrums, I found myself moving into Cocooning about seven years ago. During that time in my life, I examined my passions and purpose and how I was utilizing those in my career as a practicing CPA.
It turns out I wasn’t utilizing my own unique gifts and talents in a way that I felt was consistent with my values and purpose. And I just couldn’t see myself making minor tweaks in my role and returning back to the same unfulfilling professional responsibilities.
No, my deep introspection caused me to see an entirely new path for my professional world. A path as a coach and consultant emerged, a path focused on using my background and experience in a whole new way. My time in Cocooning enabled me to write a new script for my life.
My own coach was incredibly helpful during this time. She coached me from the “inside- out,” encouraging me to take stock of my passion, values and vision for the future I wanted to create.
She helped me develop my plan for utilizing the skills and experience I had accumulated while tapping into work that was truly important to me. The outcome of my introspection and coaching work was new energy and a commitment to living my life “on purpose.”
One of the greatest Ah-ha moments I had during my own learning process was the fact that I was not alone. Lots of people just like me have experienced Cocooning and make their way successfully to the fourth Phase Hudson termed “Getting Ready” (More on that in my next post.)
Hudson’s focus on our understanding of the Cycle of Renewal is to help us identify where we are so that we can take the steps to move quickly from the Doldrums into more productive and positive phases.
So how about you? Do you see yourself in any of these previous three phases in the Cycle of Renewal? Are you stuck in the Doldrums or perhaps in Cocooning, re-assessing or re-evaluating your next steps?
I’d love to hear your comments and feedback.
To your success,
Mary
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