Shocking Openings

Dramatic lightning in a dark blue and purple sky.

2025-01-24

Whoa! What just happened??!!

Jolt

Openings are not always gentle. Neither are our journeys. Shocking Openings shake us up. We are meant to move – sometimes long distances and all at once. Shocking Openings leave us in a state of amazement. That amazement can be of many hues – pleasant, confounding, surprising, fearful, dizzying. Shocking Openings move without our consent and with their own force.

The jolt we feel from a Shocking Opening has a purpose – to take us somewhere completely new or to break us out of resistance. They often come without notice and completely unexpected, sharpening the jolt. They are showing us something we do not see or getting us somewhere we need to go. They come because we do not see what is next or where we must go. We need a jolt in order to move.

Here are some random examples of Shocking Openings.

Without notice, a company is sold and employees are working for a new owner.
The Los Angeles fires are a severe and tragic example for those who have lost everything.
We gain a new insight, creating a completely new perspective than the one we had before the Opening.
We have a revelation in a friendship or relationship, seeing something that we could not or refused to see before.
We have a realization when we thought we were happy, that we are not.

Has the change that surrounds us now created a jolt for you? You can make the most of the jolt and coaching can support you as you do.

Pivot

A pivot is a turn, usually a significant one. Pivots are powerful movements. When a Shocking Opening occurs, our pivot can be a voluntary one, once we see what the Opening is showing us or an involuntary one, that the shock pushes us into. We are forced to move and/or adapt to the new conditions. Pivots are mainly fueled by us, although the initial turn can be created by a Shocking Opening.

Pivots involve turning towards the new – new perspectives and new places. Movement is inherent in pivoting. Ours surroundings change – sometimes within and sometimes without. Pivots can involve many areas of our life – our relationships, our work, our beliefs, our life direction, our actions, our thoughts and perspectives, our views of ourselves.

Shocking Openings create pivots (or the start of them) that require our acceptance. Once accepted, we can continue the pivot or see where the pivot has taken us. This acceptance is not easy when we have just experienced a Shocking Opening. We have to pull our energies in, look around and assess where the Opening has taken us.

Stretch

It is good to stretch in our lives. Stretching creates growth. It is key to our progress in life. Shocking Openings stretch us and open opportunities for us to stretch on our own. Stretching requires us to adapt, develop resilience and get comfortable with change. It develops our skills and maintains them. It keeps us nimble, fit and able to adapt to what comes into our lives.

Beyond Shocking Openings, we can pursue opportunities to stretch ourselves by creating a lifestyle of growth and exploration. Shocking Openings will still come; however, by stretching on our own we prepare ourselves for and are better able to handle Shocking Openings. By seeking opportunities to stretch we assure our growth and learning.

A lifestyle of growth and stretching can involve continuous learning, pursuing challenges that will allow us to grow, expanding our interests, periodically taking ourselves out of our comfort zone, keeping ourselves moving (adopting a growth mindset), taking risks, nurturing our creativity, staying flexible, learning from failure and reflecting on the progress of our journey.

Move!

No question, Shocking Openings get us moving. Let’s develop our skill at responding to them by keeping ourselves moving and growing. Then, when a Shocking Opening shows up, it may shake us, but we will soon take the energy of the Opening and use it positively in our journey.

I’m going to brush myself off, stand up and figure out how to handle this Shocking Opening!

photo: Micah Tindell, unsplash.com

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Shocking Openings