Ch - ch - ch - ch - Changes

Anyone who knows me knows that I genuinely believe the "art of learning" should be a lifelong journey, especially the learning of "who" we are as individuals. Well, I had another lesson this past week. Allow me to set the stage:

One constant in my department is the constant of change... it's becoming standard procedure for us to have a monthly stand-up meeting to announce someone leaving our department for other adventures within the company. So when another stand-up was scheduled on Thursday, I only thought briefly about it.

And then I found out that the stand-up was to announce the retirement of my former boss/forever friend and mentor/personal touchstone... and that her last day is August 31, only six measly weeks away. Within a 30 minute span, I felt:

• Shock... she'd mentioned retirement, but only in fleeting terms that sounded far away (which in this world means 2+ years)
• Anger... like an irrational sense of abandonment
• An overload of sadness... since crying at work makes me uncomfortable (even more so when I'm the one crying!), I had to take a walk to find an empty room

After a few minutes, I collected myself and went into "emotional lock-down"... which means 'I'm fine' responses to inquiries if I was okay. And by the end of the day, I felt embarrassed at my earlier emotional display and berated myself during the ride home.

In my reflection of that day and my internal reactions and external responses, I have learned some valuable things about myself during times of personal change. Because for me, that was the key... Susan's upcoming departure doesn't just affect me professionally (as the other departures have)... it affects me personally.

So here are some questions for you to ponder:

• Do you experience the "constant of change" in your world?
• How do you internally react / externally respond such an environment?
• What can you do to handle it even more effectively, for your own benefit and for the benefit of others?
• What are you willing to commit to try over the next month?
• What could get in your way?
• Who can support you on this?

Sara