Transitions Can Empower You!

Each transition is an opportunity to look at who you are - and where you're headed.
Adversity will introduce you to yourself. Character, integrity, and truth will all become crystal clear upon your entry into a life storm. Hardship reveals your inner workings.

So, the beauty of the above statement is that it doesn't say hardship or adversity...it says TRANSITION. I love that because the things we perceive as hardships are usually just TRANSITIONS...in spite of our desire to cling to the familiar and the comfortable, our transitions are usually good for us. They help us grow, and they teach us valuable lessons about life.
Beyond learning new things about who you really are, you'll gain a new understanding of where you should be and where you want to be. Perhaps your transition was painful and you want to avoid transitions like it in the future, you can take that experience, sort out the lessons, and throw away the pain & guilt. In doing so, you give yourself permission to move on from the transition by owning the future - the spotless new path waiting for you to apply all that you've learned.
Of course, change is inevitable but growth is a choice. So, we must remember that with every turn and every fork in the road of our lives, we have complete control over our futures. I've often heard people who've just been through a trying time say, "It feels like my life is out of control." The opposite is true. During those times of chaos and confusion, we have a tremendous amount of control. Our decision to have a positive attitude and to find facilitative ways to deal with our emotions is a choice that will lend itself to healing and to the use of our experience to our advantage. In reflection, we often see situations that have occured that we deemed to be harmful or useless at the time, which later revealed themselves to be the beginnings of some of the most wonderful blessings we've ever received.

Lemon, alone, is sour and bitter. But add water and sugar and you have a tasty cup of lemonade. Know that your transition, while sour and bitter, is a key ingredient in your lemonade. You are the water - the main ingredient, and your attitude is the sugar that makes the lemonade worth drinking.

So, today, I encourage you to find ways to appreciate your transitions. Make a list of the GOOD things that have come out of your perceived hardships, and begin to use those things to your advantage. Make a conscious decision to maintain a positive and healthy attitude in spite of your circumstances. In doing so, your circumstances will slowly shape themselves into favorable ones.