Change has been my constant companion the past few years. As a change warrior and consultant, I am used to helping others lead through times of change. Hanging out with it on a personal basis, however, wasn’t quite as comfortable.
Emerging from the Cocoon
I realized that in reaction to my professional changes, I was shutting myself off. Once the work day was over, the couch and television became my buddies. I was curling into the fetal position within the safety of my house. I was cocooning.
Cocooning is not a bad thing because I was rejuvenating. But I think I overstayed my welcome.
Now I am emerging as a newly energized creation. I am starting to move, stretch and jump up and down. Literally.
For those of you who read my blog in DameNation, I went to a Virginia Tech football game this weekend. I wanted to experience “Enter Sandman” with my son. I think it’s one of the most powerful, motivational sports moments I have ever encountered.
Here it is:
Jumping up and down never felt so good. It was liberating. It was joyous. It was glorious. It was childlike, in the best sense of that term.
The other day I was in a restaurant and saw a little girl who must have been three or four years-old. She was leaving the restaurant, jumping first and then bending way over and walking like Groucho Marx. I looked at my husband and said, “I love that kids can just say to themselves, ‘I think I’ll walk this way.’ When did we lose that spontaneity? When did we lose our energy?”
Energizing Change
So, take comfort in the cocoon for a while. But remember that eventually you need to venture out, to spread your wings, to jump up and down, and to celebrate the small steps. Try creating a bucket list.
Go to a game you’ve always wanted to see. Dance in your office. Visit a friend from childhood. Do the twist in Target.
At the game, I witnessed kids throwing other kids into the air when their team scored. While the mother in me wanted to tell them to stop, I was actually delighted. I loved the freedom and the joy they were expressing, even if it was fueled by Coors Light.
As I watched them, I realized that after years in my cocoon I had forgotten that I could leave the gravity of fear.
By energizing myself, I remembered that my time in the cocoon gave me the wings to fly.