It isn’t the changes, it’s the transitions

You may have thought about transitions, but if you haven’t, I want to change that.

Why? Because a lot of how you get through life is determined by how you handle the transitions. An aerobics class helped me realize that. (Are there still aerobics classes?)

Here’s the story. I happened to be the general manager of a very nice athletic club, and we offered a lot of aerobics classes. We built a special room for aerobics.

Let’s say it was 40 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The entire floor was the kind of hardwood used on professional basketball courts, and it had been installed with the same kind of underlayment. That made it more expensive, but it saved the knees and joints of all of those jumping-up-and-down people.

The entire front wall — floor to ceiling — was covered with clean, shiny, mirrors. Sound familiar?

The instructor stood in front on a little raised platform, allowing students to see her/him better. The students were neatly lined up like a marching band, but with enough room between each other so swinging arms and kicking legs weren’t an issue.

There was loud, rhythmic music, and the instructor wore a microphone and could be heard even over the music.

It looked like a lot of fun, and I thought I should give it a try. What could go wrong?

Transitions

I let my head aerobics instructor, who was very good at her job, know that I’d be coming to a beginner class. That was not only the polite thing to do, it gave her a chance to say, “Are you sure?” But no, she was excited that the boss would be coming and did not try to talk me out of it.

As you might detect, I was a tiny bit nervous. But I reasoned that it was my bounden duty to experience every part of the club first-hand, and I hadn’t tried this.

I showed up early, got a spot in the back row, and soon we started.

Warmup? Check. I was still teaching tennis at the time, and a daily exerciser.

First moves, which were basically all about stretching? Check. And then the music started, with all of us following the commands and moves of the instructor. “To the left, to the right, now again, and again.”

Piece of cake, I thought, and then she said, “OK, let’s go into the something-or-other routine.” And everyone did, except me. But I watched, and halfway through I was with the class. Then the move changed again, and I lagged behind. I caught up, just before another change. You get the picture.

When someone on the staff asked me how it went, I said, “I could do all of the moves, but I had a really hard time with the transitions.”

And it hit me.

I could do the moves of life pretty well, but the transitions gave me trouble. How about you?

In America, we have a new president.

You probably noticed that, because it has been in the news a lot. What you might not have thought of is that while the president has changed, everyone (from the president all the way down to me) is really in transition.

And that is just one example, but it’s easy because it affects all of us — even our readers from other countries.

Recently my wife and I bought a used car from a good friend. That car is a full-size SUV, and we have never owned either a truck or an SUV. We had to transition from a sedan, sitting lower, to this car, sitting almost a foot higher.

The vehicle I drive changed immediately, but the transition, even after several days, continues.

One of my friends and his wife are expecting their first child in about 18 weeks, and when that baby is born they will be three instead of two. A small numerical change, but a big transition.

We talk a lot about change, but in my experience the change is less problematic than getting there. In fact the fear of the transition keeps people in bad relationships, in bad jobs, and even out of the gym or on a poor diet.

Do we talk about it in those terms? No, but I think we should. We are all good at status quo. Mostly we are not so good at getting from one status to another.

Making transitions work

Would you like to be a person who does more good in the world?

I’m glad you said Yes! Here’s how you do it. You embrace the transition that will take you from where you are to where you want to be.

For instance, if you decided to start exercising, you shouldn’t go from zero to a hundred in a week. You should start with one pushup on day 1. Then two on day 2. Keep that up until you hit your peak, then stay there. Then go forward when you can.

Intentionally do one good thing on day 1. Do two on day 2. Yes, this is just like pushups. Go until you hit a limit, then stay, and then go forward again.

Know that you are in a transition period and that the “change” in you is not here yet. Transitions can last a while, so be patient.

In aerobics I was fighting the transitions, not embracing them, and that held me back. I wanted to retreat to the old way. Though I wanted to do the new moves, I didn’t think I could get there. I could have, but I didn’t know all this yet.

What can you do that will be life-changing in a good way? Watch for and then embrace the transition from here to there, and the journey will be much easier. More to the point, the new place will feel right sooner.

While the world may miss seeing the transitions in life, now you will not. Look for them, embrace them, and getting through them will be fun and rewarding at the same time.

As for aerobics, that’s your call.

Do good. It’s in you!