What happens for you when you are almost there? When are you almost done with a project that you have been working on for a long time? Almost there in achieving what you never thought you would achieve yet kept marching towards, nonetheless? Almost there in a career you have devoted your life to?
I have seen two distinct reactions. One is that the person puts their head down and just keeps pushing to the finish line. The other is that they finally believe they have permission to breathe. They see the finish line, the few finishing touches that are needed, and they stop, or sit for a moment, and let it all sink in. They want to relish the finish and not go in dragging and so exhausted they can’t appreciate it. Both work yet each works for different leadership styles.
For those who stop just short, not in second-guessing, but so that they can appreciate/see it all before it ends or is completed, this becomes the sweet or not-so-sweet moment. This is when they get to step back and remember the innocent soul who had a dream, a vision of what was possible if they put in the work. In remembering that innocent being, they also get to see the wisdom, hopefully a degree of emotional intelligence, patience, and ability to see the big picture that has also developed along the way.
For some it is also the point where they see the price they paid. They come to see their leadership style, their perfectionism, or a tendency for a lack of follow-through that needed to be worked through. They have learned the necessity of keeping the vision, the dream, front and center in order to keep their motivation going. Not doing so can make it so easy to quit when the going gets tough as it inevitably does.
For some I work with, it is also when they realize how little attention they paid to their other priorities. They recognize how narrow their focus became and how much they identified with their project rather than staying in the 30,000-foot view and seeing this dream as only one aspect of a multi-dimensional life. In our work together, we resurrect, if possible, the relationships that have suffered, their health that has been neglected, and the dreams that exist beyond this project or this career.
What happens now that this vision has been actualized? What do you want for this new wiser, more experienced, you with these new skills that never existed as such before? That is the work I love. Helping others, in recognizing the price they paid to reach their current goal, while also reminding them of the person that existed long before this all began. There was the dreamer and the actualizer who is now ready, after a couple months of celebrating, for the next step to evolve.
If messes need to be cleaned up, we do that. If dreams need to be rediscovered or have permission to be spoken, we go there. Transitioning to the next stage, or the next step, is very much a process of walking through the gift of this transition into the absolute freedom that comes with the transformation that took place, recognized or otherwise.
If it is too much to handle, call. I will be here loving the chance to support that step into something more, different, or even outrageous. That’s the sole purpose of transformation and moving onto the next steps. It’s because you are being called to do and become even more. You’ve been made ready…
Call if you see that!
