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By Jill Hinrichs, PPC, Leadership and Team Development Coach, AllOne Health
If you haven’t heard of the acronym VUCA, it stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. Before writing this article, I did a quick mind map of all the VUCA in my life right now. In less than two minutes, I came up with over 25 items—each representing something volatile, uncertain, complex, or ambiguous. Just the process of mapping it out stirred up a surprising wave of emotion.
And that’s the first thing to know about coping with life transitions: emotions are normal.
Feeling sad, anxious, lost, impatient, excited, numb, avoidant—or even all of these at once—is part of the human experience.
Let’s take a closer look at one of those emotions: avoidance. We all have a built-in tendency—whether conscious or unconscious—called the Ostrich Effect: the instinct to avoid negative information. This conflict arises between what our rational brain knows is important and what our emotional brain fears will be painful.
This article is here to help you lift your head out of the metaphorical sand and take one step forward into the vulnerability and potential of living in a VUCA world.
Why Life Transitions Feel So Hard
Our brains crave stability. According to the SCARF Model, five core drivers shape human behavior in social settings:
Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness.
When life feels unpredictable, like it often does in times of transition, it’s as if all five of those needs are under threat.
In moments like these, I find it helpful to revisit a deeper truth: the physical world is not the only reality. There’s also the world of Being—a place of inner awareness. If you have a mindfulness practice (or even just moments of silence), you’ve likely experienced this: noticing your thoughts, emotions, and sensations as they come and go.
Everything changes. But one thing remains constant—the part of you that observes. This part of you—your awareness—is you. Not your job title, not your beliefs, not your emotional state. You, as awareness, are the calm presence underneath it all.
But Let’s Be Real…
It’s nice to connect to a deeper truth, but we still live in what Plato calls The World of Becoming—the physical world of responsibilities, relationships, and rapid change. So, how do we actually navigate it?
How do you:
- Let go of the past?
- Open up to the unknown?
- Find help—and ask for it?
- Stay resilient?
- Know when it will feel better?
These are real and urgent questions. And if you’re asking them, I get it—I’ve been there too. But I invite you to pause and simply notice: who is asking these questions?
This is your mind at work—rushing to solve, fix, and control. But here’s the truth: only you hold the answers you’re searching for.
That’s why I want to share a powerful practice that helps you reconnect with your inner knowing—your own wisdom—as you move through the transition.
The Transformation Technique
A daily practice for navigating life transitions
This practice was created by Michael Schiesser, founder of The Inner Journey Institute. It integrates four powerful pillars:
- Emptying Out – releasing fear, assumptions, and emotional clutter
- Visioning – seeing the future you want to create, in present-tense language
- Embracing All That Is – honoring both fear and hope as part of the journey
- Surrendering to Life – letting go, and allowing yourself to be guided
This technique is simple and effective. Try it daily during any significant life transition—whether you’re job-hunting, healing a relationship, starting something new, mourning a loss, or simply trying to find your footing in a changing world.
The 4-Step Practice
- Empty Out
Sit or lie down in any space where you feel comfortable.
Raise your right hand in the air like a cup being filled. Place your left palm down on your leg.
With your right hand raised, speak out loud (or silently) all your fears, doubts, worries, and projections—until you feel emptied out. Then, gently lower your right hand and take a few deep breaths.
2. Vision the Possibility
Now raise your left hand like a cup to be filled. Speak in the present tense about your highest vision for the situation—not a fantasy, but a grounded, empowered version of what you truly want. Speak until you feel complete. Then lower your left hand and breathe deeply.
3. Embrace Both
Place your right hand on your heart to acknowledge the worried part of your mind. Breathe into that place with kindness. Then place your left hand on your heart and hold both the worry and the vision. Let them rest together within your compassionate awareness.
4. Surrender and Trust
Place both hands at your sides, palms facing up. In this posture of openness and surrender, say to yourself:
“I will do my best, and what will be, will be.”
Rest in this peaceful space of trust, allowing yourself to reconnect with your deeper self—your unchanging awareness, your connection to all life.
From this grounded place, ask yourself one question you’ve been holding about your current transition. Trust the response that arises. You already know the way forward. You are being guided—step by step—into the next version of yourself.
In addition to our Assistance Programs, AllOne Health provides Organizational Consulting services to help workplace leaders navigate organizational challenges and strengthen organizational health. To learn more, visit Organizational Consulting.
References:
- The Ostrich Effect – Psychology Today
- The SCARF Model – NeuroLeadership Institute
- Plato. The Republic. 375 BCE
- The Transformation Technique – Inner Journey Institute
