It’s 4:30am and I’m up writing as I usually am every week day before going to the gym and then to work.  Yet something feels different this morning.  I’ve been sitting at the computer for longer than it usually takes me to write a post.  For the past hour I’ve been trying to write about how I think that change, chaos and transitions are a blessing in anyone’s life. And as such, they should all be embraced.

How do I know, you ask?  I’ve experienced it with my own skin.

Having said all that, I’m well aware that writing about my writing process is like using a walking stick to walk.  What can I say?  Today I need something to lean on.  Does that mean that I’m losing my writing mojo?  Or that my writing juice is coming to an end?  Sure, those are all possibilities.  Even so, what’s more likely is that I’m coming to a new beginning – a new phase in my writing.   To enter into the new phase, the old one must come to an end.  My usual, normal, comfortable, and familiar process must exit. And in comes the new phase – which at first will feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable.  As do most new things.  Indeed this post is part of my transition – so welcome! 

(End self-introspection. Start post.)

Right now forget what you know about surviving chaos, change and transitions.  Instead I invite you to thrive in the midst of it all.  This is not an indecent proposal – thriving  amidst the chaos is a very real and achievable goal. 

1. Look at the eye of the storm in the eye.  Avoidance is a form of self-sabotage.  Information is power because when you know what is going on, you can figure out what needs to be done to get out of the rut.  To thrive, take chaos head on.  Look at it in the eye – accept it. Once you know what you’re up against, it’s much easier to look for solutions and possibilities. 
2. Look for the lessons.  A cruisy life leaves very little lessons – and becomes boring after a while.  Challenges, on the other hand, are among life’s best teachers.  But only if you’re open to learning.  To capitalize on tough times, skip wasting time feeling sorry for yourself and asking: “why me?”, “why did this happen to me?”.  Use your mental juices to look for the lessons.  Ask: “what can I learn from this experience?”,  “in what ways will I be stronger, smarter, better equipped to take on life?”.
3. Ask “why not me?”.  If you pay close attention, you will find that great people are not born great.  They are shaped by how they handle situations in their life – just like a sculptor shapes a marble slab into, say a David.  In other words, it’s how they handle adveristy, change, transitions, that shapes them into greatness.  Next time life pitches you a curve ball, take it as an opportunity.  Use it to shape yourself into a great person.
4. Stretching is good.  New situations call for new approaches and new solutions. Enjoy the new perspective.  Dealing with a new situation in an old way will lead no where.  Think laterally – and in ways you never thought possible.  Go on, stretch your brain.  It will thank you by developing neural pathways you did not know existed.  In a way, a new part of you will develop.

All up, this is why thinking beings are equipped to thrive.  Now you know why mere survival and just getting by is for the non-thinking kind…