Navigate Impending Change with Confidence and Clarity
Recently, Phil and I sensed an impending change in our lives.
Initially, we didn’t know we were sensing it, and we fought the challenging emotions and reactions that came with it.
We’ve come to find that we react very differently to these situations.
I tend to dig in, burrow deeper into life, get a more robust understanding, try to strengthen the foundation and gather people around me to help me do that.
Phil, on the other hand, tends to leave the burrow and move about, searching for different shelter, looking for new solutions, finding clarity through researching and learning from others.
What we’ve realized is that true to the animals we’ve both independently come to admire, I respond to an impending storm or event much like an Owl, burrowing in, strengthening the foundation, huddling together. Phil responds much more like a snake, leaving the nest, moving about, searching for shelter.
In partnership, this used to be a huge problem, as our different responses felt highly uncomfortable for the other person.
But now, as we feel this new impending change upon us, we embrace our differences. We intentionally unlock anything holding Phil back so that he can go out and move instinctively. We give space for me to dig in, focusing on our foundations.
Ultimately creating more ease within our relationship, more energetic alignment within ourselves and the clarity and confidence to navigate what lies ahead.
NOTICE WHERE THIS MAY BE HAPPENING IN YOUR OWN LIFE
You also have a unique instinctive nature within yourself.
You also likely sense approaching change or challenges. But unless you give yourself an opportunity to notice how you feel and how you uniquely respond or prepare, you will likely move through big changes and small challenges fighting your own instinctual nature.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK
Most people are going to do what we did initially - react out of fear.
They may not know that they’re intuitively picking up on an impending change or challenge, let alone aware of how they intentionally want to respond in their most authentic way.
They just know that they feel stressed or uncomfortable, agitated or irritated. They feel like they’re about to drown and they’re frantically searching for a life raft at any cost. They want to hold onto what has been or try to control what’s to come.
I know this experience well because I’ve done it…a lot.
The problem with this approach is that it:
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Erodes our trust in ourselves to navigate change, and
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Limits the potential meaningful impact of this change on our lives.
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THE UNLOCK
So how do we make the shift from unconsciously “drowning” to intentionally navigating change?
For us, it is always a deeper sense of self awareness. This time, our unlock occurred when we randomly researched how different animals instinctively respond to impending storms.
We noticed that different animals sense a storm or earthquake days in advance and will respond accordingly in preparation.
When we read the data and then reflected on the animals that we’ve always been drawn to, we noticed that we respond individually in the exact same way, as we mentioned above.
This awareness allowed us to accept that change was coming and create the space and intention to respond to the change authentically.
PERSPECTIVE
Consider this…before major natural disasters, like tsunamis and hurricanes, many animals move to safety. In the days and moments prior to a massive wave crushing the coastline, animals move to higher ground.
“Survivors also reported seeing animals, such as cows, goats, cats and birds, deliberately moving inland shortly after the earthquake and before the tsunami came” – Irina Rafliana
Days before an earthquake hits, animals like snakes, begin to change their movement patterns, often indicating the epicenter of the impending seismic shake.
China, meanwhile, has already created a Quake Alert system based at its earthquake bureau in Nanning, monitoring the behaviour of animals much closer to the ground – specifically, snakes in farms across a wide quake-prone region. Snakes possess a powerful array of sensory mechanisms geared to detecting tiny changes in aspects of their environment, and it was in part sudden changes in the behaviour of snakes and other animals which prompted authorities to evacuate the Chinese city of Haicheng in 1975, just before a major quake struck – an action that saved countless lives.
Most recently, with Hurricane Helene, maps showed some birds flying inland prior to landfall to avoid the devastating path of the storm. While others flew into the eye of the storm for safety. And others dug deep into their nests to avoid the impact.
Using their senses, animals anticipate and then respond to the collective happenings of the world
This instinct to anticipate the storm or know what to do in any given moment of pending change is not just isolated to animals.
Are we humans not animals ourselves?
Imagine if the animals ignore their instincts and don’t move to higher ground or inland or to new shelter. They suffer and likely experience a lot of loss.
So what happens to you when you ignore your intuition and instincts in the face of impending change or challenge?
A PATH FORWARD
The truth is, change is inevitable.
We can react using the same unhelpful behaviors we’ve used in the past, ultimately creating more friction, challenge and pain.
OR we can listen and respond with more intention and authentic movement, leading ourselves to more creativity, flexibility and possibility.
PERSONAL REFLECTION
Below is a reflection opportunity for you to get clear on where this exists in your own life. Take a moment to settle in consider the questions below using the audio to guide you.
