BE TRANSFORMED

 DISTINCTION# 2:

CHANGE VERSUS TRANSFORM

We are forever changed by transformation; fear into love, limitations into possibilities and problems into potential.

Change is inevitable and will come to all if us; transformation however is optional and not always realized. Transformation occurs when through the multitude of changes in life, you evolve and increase your awareness of yourself. The constant ebb and flow and movement of life is the absolute definition of change. Every day you are making new cells, breaking down and rebuilding and so too is the content of your life, constantly being rewritten and reformed. Change is short-term, whereas transformation is the long-term awakening of yourself to your self.

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” ~ Alan Watts

CHANGE YOUR MIND

Change does not always mean that the result will be beneficial or an improvement nor does it imply growth, it simply means different than before. Clients will say to me, I want to change my life: my job, my relationships, my reactions. This is a great place to start but what they really want is to transform.  People change: we are taller, heavier, older. Roles and labels change: live in the country, in the city, employed, unemployed, a parent, married, divorced, richer and poorer. Change is simply describing the fluctuations of these roles and identities, structures and habits, forms of expression and therefore experience. Maybe you want to change your eating habits. You want to eat less sugar and add more veggies to your diet. As you experience this external change, your internal barometer, set to the old ways, begins to question, respond, resist and embrace, all at once. A lasting change requires transformation. You must see a new vision, learn new habits and drop limiting beliefs. This will ensure that the eating habits are shifted at a level that contributes to sustainability. So it may seem lofty, but change is not enough, that is happening already, what I want for my clients is personal transformation.

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” ~ M. Scott Peck

FOREVER CHANGED

Transformation is growing and  evolving in response to the external changes. It is an expanded view and understanding of who you really are. It means that you have shed what does not work and have embraced new thoughts, habits and beliefs as a result of the change. This is a journey that requires courage and a willingness to move beyond superficial fixes. It is an invitation to see problems as opportunities; to face  where you  disempower, limit and excuse yourself.  Transformation is about getting real and owning the problems and changes you do not like and shifting your awareness inwards, towards the internal pain.  Transformation is the healing of the pain that you are most trying to hide, disguise and deny. In the  long-term, transformation moves you in the direction of who you want to be and the life you want to live. Unlike change, which is  fleeting,  you will be forever changed by transforming.

Change: Constant, inevitable, short-term, what you are doing and experiencing externally; choices, reactions, habits, labels.

Transformation: Optional,long-term,  who you are being, what you are thinking and feeling internally; beliefs, values, purpose.