Holding pattern
If you look up “holding pattern” in the dictionary, you’ll see it defined like this: a state or period of no progress or change.
And that’s exactly what it can feel like when you are in the middle of a big change. You’ve made the decision about where you want to go and what you want to leave behind, but then comes the middle part: The part where you aren’t yet where you want to be, and yet, you can’t quite leave where you are. Have you ever been in this place? A place where you might feel… stuck? Where you look around and you don’t see the progress you expected to see? Where you feel like you can’t make too many decisions or take too many actions because you have to wait to see how things pan out?
If you’ve ever felt that way or you’re feeling that way right now, the first thing I want you to know is that it’s normal. I’ve certainly felt that since announcing our news, and I’ve felt that before about big changes in the past. Change requires patience. And even though we may know this, it doesn’t change the fact that the holding pattern can feel frustrating. Especially if you are someone who likes to get stuff done and who thrives off of forward momentum.
I’d like to challenge you a bit. And only because I’ve been challenging myself and our team in the same way as we navigate these same feelings. What if I told you that being in a holding pattern is actually a gift?
Go with me here for a minute.
When making a big change, do you allow yourself to feel? Do you allow yourself to grieve what was so that you can be fully open for all that is to come? What if that’s what the holding pattern is for? A time to process our feelings around change? A time to come together as a team and support one another? To give ourselves enough time to actually be at peace emotionally before we jump into another chapter that will come with its own set of emotions? What a gift.
When making a big change, do you allow things to simply unfold? Or do you end up taking actions just to take them? In the end, are those actions the best ones? Or were they made out of restlessness because being still is so uncomfortable? What if the holding pattern could be our time to observe? To think? To strategize? What if it could be the key to better decisions and even more progress? What a gift.
When making a big change, do you allow yourself time to rest? To gain the inner strength you’ll need as you enter this next phase of your life, work, or organization? What if that could be what the holding pattern is for? A time to be with ourselves? A time to retreat? A time to do less work so that we can do more when it really counts? What a gift.
When making a big change, do you focus so much on the final destination that you aren’t present for the journey? What if this… right now… is the best part, and you’re wishing for it to be over? What if all the meetings where we navigate uncertainty are the times we remember and treasure most as a team? What if one day we look back and realize that the holding pattern is our favorite part of the story, the one we choose to tell to inspire others? What a gift.
You are not stuck.
You are not frozen.
You are making progress, even when it doesn’t look or feel like it.
What a gift.
Hugs through the screen,
Kristen
PS: Join us for our LIVE show this Wednesday (and every Wednesday!) at 11 a.m. ET, where our leadership team and I get REAL. We share everything from news and stories from behind-the-scenes of our pivot to what we’re learning, what we’re struggling with as leaders, and how we’re meeting this unprecedented moment in our history as a company. You can register here: https://bit.ly/3kWe2kT. It’s the same link each week. Hope to see you there!
