What To Do When Faced With A Scary Transitional Stage

Over the last couple weeks I have been facing a potential NEW TRANSITIONAL STAGE in my life. A few months ago, I noticed a lump in my right breast. I’ve been diagnosed in the past with having fibrous tissue in my breasts so to be honest I wasn't terribly worried. We had new health insurance and I had to find a new doctor and an imaging center so that was taking some time. I really wasn’t in any big hurry because I’ve found these in the past and they’ve always been nothing to worry about until… a few weeks ago while in the shower, I found that the lump had changed shape and size significantly. 

As you can imagine this was quite frightening to say the least. It took me a week to get into to see my new doctor and another week before I could get a mammogram and ultrasound. During this period, I took a lot of time to reflect on what I was facing and how I would handle it. After the shock of what I had found and the immediate fear and sheer panic that ran through my entire body, I actually found some peace. Don’t get me wrong, every now and then my stomach would drop thinking about the “what ifs”. 

This is how I found peace throughout this very scary time...

Throughout my four year Love What’s Next journey, I worked really hard to find joy…to be present, to be grateful, to have purpose and find peace. I discovered the Six Pursuits to Love What’s Next and I implemented them into my daily life. It was through this that I found the joy I was looking for when I was left with an empty nest and facing a new transition in my life.

So here I was faced with another very different kind of potential transitional stage in my life. I knew I was the healthiest I’ve ever been (Move It Or Lose It Pursuit) and I also knew I had the love and support I would need from my family and friends (Humans Pursuit) if it turned out to be the worse case scenario. I also know how to find joy in the simplest of things (Simple Bliss Pursuit) and I have something I love to do and can’t wait to jump out of bed every day (Limitless Spark Pursuit). And finally, I’m covered financially if that became a necessary step (Stash Some Cash Pursuit) . 

So next,  I had to figure out how I could take this new stage in my life if it happened, and do something I wouldn’t normally do (Redefine Normal Pursuit). What I didn’t mention earlier was that about 14 years ago I had a lump removed, it was benign thank goodness but I will be completely honest, I didn’t handle it well. After the surgery, I spent most of the weekend crying and living in fear while we waited for the test results to come back on that following Monday. 

So this time through I definitely wanted to handle it differently…REDEFINE NORMAL to experience something different!! 

On my four year LWN journey I spent every day praying, journaling and practicing gratitude. It’s incredible the direction that's given when you do these three actions. So this is exactly what I continued to do through this new experience and what ultimately could’ve become my next transitional stage in my life. I had so much peace and calm this time around. I’m not naive enough to think that it couldn’t happen to me, it wasn’t like that at all, I had a sense of peace that no matter the results, I could endure and actually thrive with whatever results came, because I know where to find joy even in the thick of a really difficult phase in life. 

Thankfully, the lump turned out to be a clump of cysts and nothing to worry about. It was at that moment that I cried uncontrollably in thanksgiving. It was very different from the tears I shed in fear fourteen years before. 

Please know that I'm not passing any judgement on anyone who’s going through this and having a difficult struggle. It’s a horrible experience to endure and I was extremely fortunate with my outcome. 

I share this with you only to express how grateful I am for the journey I had to go through when my kids left home because it’s change my life in more ways than I even knew it would! I didn’t realize until now the gift of that journey and how it would affect this new journey I'm now living. 

Are you going through a difficult transition right now? If so, can I help you.  Let chat! Schedule a time for us to visit and see how I can help you. Nicole's Calendar

6 Love What's Next Pursuits