The saying goes “All we can really expect in life is death and taxes.” I would add change to this uplifting list. While death and taxes usually have a negative connotation, change can go either way on us.
Change is personal. Most anyone can tell you that change is constant. But practically no one will tell you it’s easy. Maybe that’s because changes don’t just happen; they happen to people. And when those changes happen to be us, we tend to take those life transitions pretty personally. That’s all part of being human.
Here at Aspyre Wealth Partners, we never forget that when change happens in your life, it affects how you feel. And how you feel affects how you think and act. As a Financial Transitionist®, I believe it’s our responsibility to recognize how the change in your life is affecting you so we can assist you in working through it in the manner and time that are best for you.
Transition Traits: Struggle
What people do when faced with major life changes can be as individual as they are. During times of transition, many people experience challenges that interfere with their readiness to move forward with plans they had made, or their ability to think and act clearly.
This could be due to factors such as the quality and amount of energy they have, their mindset about stress, and/or their history of resilience. We call this Transition Struggle, and part of my training with the Financial Transitionist Institute was to learn how to identify and address the most common traits of such struggles. For example:
Overwhelm
Imagine this: Your recent divorce has brought lots of changes to your life, and not just financially. After years of being “Someone’s wife,” you are now relegated to being “Someone’s ex,” an identity you never wanted or even imagined. You say you are “stunned by where life has landed [you],” and now, with a heap of once-shared and new responsibilities sitting squarely on your plate, you add that you feel “overwhelmed” by it all.
You are too exhausted by the present to even hope things will improve in the future, and you can’t think straight about which items on your seemingly endless to-do list you should tackle first. While the divorce process itself has ended, all that you have to work through and decide before you can find a fulfilling new normal is just beginning.
When listening to a client tell their story, we pay careful attention to the words they use. You feel “stunned” and “overwhelmed,” which by the way is perfectly normal. When a client feels overwhelmed, the most skillful thing to do is to help them sort and prioritize the many things that need attention. It is frequently the case that very little needs to be done immediately and that most things can wait; the client just doesn’t realize that.
When clients see a one-page list of decisions and actions that need attention now, soon, and later, their overwhelm and confusion decrease and they are able to take whatever time they need to process their experience without feeling pressured about decisions or actions that can easily wait.
Traits of Transition: Flow
Unlike the struggle scenario above, some people embrace even the stressful aspects of transitions as a learning experience or an opportunity for personal transformation. They respond to change with focus, clarity, curiosity, and even enthusiasm, and they listen to and carefully consider all information that can help them make wise decisions.
We call this Transition Flow, and the most common traits of such flow, as you might imagine, reflect the flip sides struggle. The best part of the flow from our perspective is that it can always be enhanced in quality and duration.
Our commitment to you
Our goal is to help you recognize when you are exhibiting Traits of Struggle and to provide you with processes and tools to help you work through your transition. At moments when you are moving smoothly through the transition, we will help you recognize that and sustain it.
Change is constant, and we won’t guarantee you it will ever be easy. However, we take an individual and personal approach to guiding you through it, while empowering you with life skills you can use again when that next wave of change inevitably comes rolling your way.
For more information on how our team can help you navigate through some changes in your life, check out our Life Transitions page on our website.
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Jessi Chadd, M.S.F.S, CFP®, CeFT®, is a Principal at Aspyre Wealth Partners, specializing in life transitions. For help with your specific situation contact Jessi Chadd, at jchadd@aspyrewealth.com (913) 345-1881 or visit our website at AspyreWealth.com. We help successful people Master What’s Next® – whatever phase of life they are in.