Transitions

The Purpose and The Pivot is a podcast for women navigating transitions in career, leadership, faith, and personal growth. It’s for those moments when you’re re-evaluating what’s next and choosing to realign with purpose—intentionally and confidently.

Through honest conversations, meaningful stories, and practical insight, we’ll explore how to embrace change, lead through transition, and move forward with clarity after the pivot.

McLain Career & Life Coaching dba McLain Enterprises, LLC

https://www.mclainenterprisesllc.com

https://calendly.com/mclainenterprises/30min 

Produced & Edited by: Tyrone K. Sullivan (Media Director)
linkedin.com/in/tyroneksullivan 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Purpose and the Pivot, the podcast for women who know it's time for more. With your host, C. Renee McLean, career and life coach and champion for women navigating change with confidence and clarity. Each week we'll have real conversations about career moves, life transitions, mindset shifts, and the power of redefining your purpose at every stage of life. Whether you're pivoting professionally, personally, or both, this is your space for guidance, growth, and grounded support. Let's dive in.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

Welcome to The Purpose and the Pivot. Today's episode is Transitions. Yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_03 0:57

Learning to navigate the space between where you were and where you are going.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Oh my goodness, yes. Today we are talking about something every single one of us experiences. Yet very few of us are actually taught how to navigate. Yeah. Transitions, yes, and life is full of them. Yes, uh-huh, yeah. Graduating from school, starting a career, changing careers, getting married, yeah, becoming a parent, becoming an empty nester, moving to a new city, starting a business, leaving a job, retirement, loss, healing, reinvention, and sometimes transitions happen because we choose them, but other times life chooses transitions for us. Yeah, yeah. Either way, transitions can be uncomfortable because they require us to leave what we know before we're completely comfortable with what comes next. And that space of in-between can feel uncertain, emotional, and even lonely. But today I want to offer you a different way to think about transitions. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What if the transition isn't simply something you have to get through, right? What if it's a season that is preparing you for what comes next? Uh-huh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Transition is not the same thing as being lost. Okay, let's start there. When you are in transition, it's easy to think you're lost. Uh-huh. Yeah. You may not have the same job. You may not have the same relationships. You may not have the same routines. You may not even recognize yourself the way you once did. And because the familiar is gone, you assume something must be wrong. But being uncertain doesn't necessarily mean you're lost. Sometimes you're just simply in between. Uh-huh. Yeah. In between. Between what was and what will be. Yeah. Between an old identity and the new one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Between the life you knew and the life that you are now creating. Oh yes. That space can feel uncomfortable, but uncomfortable doesn't mean unproductive. Nope, nope, nope. The in-between season. Yeah. There is a particular kind of discomfort that comes from that in-between season. You know you can't go back. You know you can't go back. But you're not quite sure where you're going. Yeah. You may have released the old job, relationship, role, or expectation. But the new thing hasn't fully emerged yet. This is where people, many people, begin to panic. Oh my goodness. And then what happens? They rush into something simply because uncertainty feels unbearable. So they take the first job. They take the first opportunity. The first relationship after a breakup. The first direction that makes them feel secure again. Wow. But sometimes the best thing you can do when you're in transition is pause before you replace. Wow. I'm gonna say that again. The best thing sometimes the best thing that you can do when you're in transition is pause before you get replaced. Uh-huh. Yeah. Give yourself time to ask what do I actually want now? What matters to me in this season? What have I learned? Yeah. What am I no longer willing to tolerate? Uh-huh. Yeah. You remember that old relationship? What now am I no longer willing to tolerate? Yeah. And what does alignment look like for me now? What does alignment look like for me now? Yeah, yeah. Because transition gives you an opportunity to make decisions from clarity instead of familiarity. I tell my coaching clients that often, especially my career coaching clients, because once they've been laid off, you have time between what was and what's next. And so take the opportunity, guys, to make decisions from clarity instead of familiarity. Take that time in between and use it wisely. Uh-huh. Use it wisely. And you know what can happen? Your identity may shift. And that's okay. Because one of the most difficult parts of transition is identity. Yeah, yeah. You know, it's interesting. We often introduce ourselves through what we do. Uh-huh. Yeah. I'm an HR professional. I'm a manager. I'm a mother. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm a wife. I'm a caregiver. I'm a leader. But what happens when that role changes? Who are you then? This is why some transitions feel so much bigger than a change in circumstances. Because the identity shifts. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And sometimes you have to rediscover who you are outside of the role you've been playing. Oh my goodness. You are not just your title, okay? You are not just your title. You are not just your responsibilities. You are not just what you produce. You are a whole person with values, gifts, experiences, dreams, and purpose. Oh yes. And a transition may change what you do. However, it does not erase who you are. Who is that for today? A transition may change what you do. However, it does not erase who you are. Oh my goodness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, sometimes we have to give ourselves permission to grieve through transitions. Uh-huh. Yeah. Let's talk about something that we don't really discuss enough. Grief through transition or grief during the transition. Yeah, uh-huh, yeah. Even positive transitions can involve grief. Uh-huh. Yeah. You can be excited about what's next and still miss what was. Hmm. You can be grateful for the new opportunity and still mourn the old one. Yeah, yeah. You can choose to leave something and still feel sadness about leaving it. Yeah. I mean, this is reality, right? Those feelings can coexist. Those feelings can coexist, but don't force yourself to be excited every minute. Okay? Give yourself permission to acknowledge what you're leaving behind. Uh-huh. Yeah. Grief doesn't mean you made the wrong decision. Sometimes grief simply means something mattered. Mm-hmm. That job did matter, but now you have a better one, a new one. That relationship did matter at the time. And now you are focused on you before you go to the next one. Mm-hmm. Yeah, because it's not good to jump out of one right into another one. I'm not sure who that's for, but there you go. Now, transitions sometimes reveal what matters. Okay. And so one of those gifts of transition is clarity. We talked about that. Yeah. And when the familiar is removed, you begin to see what actually does matter. You start asking better questions. Uh-huh. Yeah. What do I value? What do I want my life to look like? Who do I want around me? What kind of work energizes me? What kind of environment helps me thrive? And what am I no longer willing to sacrifice? Oh my goodness, that's a big one. Transitions can expose misalignment that you were once too busy to notice. Uh-huh. Yeah. And that awareness, oh my God, is powerful. Yeah, it's powerful because you can't change what you aren't willing to acknowledge. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. That's why that in between time, oh my goodness, it can be so eye-opening. Yes, yes, yes. And you don't want to rush the process. Uh-uh. You know, we live in a culture that wants everything immediately, you know, the microwave uh society, whatever you want to call it. We want quick answers, quick results, quick healing, quick clarity. But sometimes transitions cannot be rushed. Okay. Think about the butterfly. Uh-huh. Yeah. There's a process with the butterfly, right? There's a period of transformation that happens before the butterfly emerges. Uh-huh. Yeah. That process. Yeah. We may be in process, yeah. Because sometimes, you know, that same situation can be true for us. And, you know, sometimes you may find yourself becoming before you're visible. Think about the butterfly. Sometimes you're growing before you have evidence of that growth. Sometimes you're preparing before anyone else understands what you're doing. But guess what, guys? Don't rush yourself simply because other people don't understand your process. Guess what? It's none of their business anyway. Okay. This is something that is key during times of transition. Build anchors. Yeah. Build anchors during change. When everything around you feels uncertain. Yeah. Maybe you need to change things that remain steady. Yeah. Anchors. I call these anchors. Your values can be an anchor. Your faith can be an anchor. Yeah. Your support system, yes, yes, can be an anchor. Your routines can be an anchor. Your purpose can be an anchor. Uh-huh. Yeah. When circumstances change, your anchors remind you of who you are. That's why it's so important to have the right people around you. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Your anchors help you make decisions when everything else feels unfamiliar. Yeah, yeah. So then you find yourself asking yourself, what keeps me grounded when life changes? Yeah. And what I want you to do is identify those things or those people, protect them, uh-huh. And then also lean on them. Yeah. Lean on them. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, it's interesting, just like when we're driving, um, you know, you don't need the whole map, right? You know, we we use the GPS, and I mean, you can look at the list of, you know, the turns and all of that, but if you're just listening to it, you don't see the whole map. And one of the biggest mistakes we make during transition is believing we need to know exactly where we're going. We know where we're going, but we don't always necessarily know how we're going to get there. Because guess what? Sometimes there will be a detour. Yeah. So a lot of times all you need is the next step. Yeah. You don't necessarily need the entire five-year plan, right? You need to know today's decision, you need to know the next conversation, the next application, the next boundary, the next opportunity to learn, even the next courageous move. Yeah. Clarity often comes through movement, uh-huh. One step at a time. Movement. So if you're waiting until you have all the things, the entire path figured out, you may be waiting a long time. Unnecessarily. Just take the next right step. Yeah. And then guess what? Take the next one. And then guess what? Take the next one. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Transition can become. Get this, guys. Transformation. Here's where I want to bring this all together. All together. A transition changes your circumstances. But transformation changes you. And sometimes the transition you're resisting is the very thing that is developing you into the person you need to become. It may teach you resilience. It may teach you patience. Yeah. It may teach you courage. It may teach you self-trust. And this is a big one for some. To stop second-guessing yourself. Oh my goodness. And it may teach you that you are capable of more than you ever thought. So don't only ask, how do I get through this? Ask, who am I becoming because of this? Oh my goodness. That is a much powerful question. Yeah, that's a most powerful question. Yes. So as we close today's episode, I want you to reflect on these questions. Yeah. What transition am I currently experiencing? What transition am I currently experiencing? Hmm. What is this season teaching me about myself? What is this season teaching me about myself? What values do I want to carry into my next chapter? Oh yes, yes. And finally, what is the next right step I can take? Even if I can't see the entire path.

SPEAKER_03 21:00

Pause and think about that.

SPEAKER_02 21:03

What is the next right step I can take? Even if I can't see the entire path. Yeah, yeah. And remember, transitions are not always comfortable. They can be messy. Yes, they can be emotional. Mm-hmm. They can be uncertain. Uh-huh. Yeah. But they can also be transformational. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. You don't have to have everything figured out. You don't have to know exactly where you're going. You just have to trust yourself enough to take the next step. Yeah. Because sometimes the chapter you're afraid to enter is the main chapter that introduces you to your destiny. Oh my goodness, let me say that again because sometimes the chapter you are afraid to enter is the main chapter that introduces you to your destiny. Who is that for today? Hear me, okay? So if you are in transition right now, give yourself grace. Uh-huh. Yeah. Give yourself grace. Don't rush the process. Don't compare your timeline with someone else's. Don't confuse uncertainty with failure. Remember, uncertainty is not failure. And don't forget to celebrate how far you've already come. Okay? You are not lost, you are in transition. And there is a big difference. A big difference. So until next time, guys, continue to embrace the pivot, trust the process, and move forward with purpose, confidence, and courage. And be encouraged. Enlightened, yes, and empowered. I am C. Renee McLean. Thank you for joining us today.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Thank you for tuning in to the purpose and the pivot. If today's episode encouraged or inspired you, be sure to follow the show and share it with another woman who's navigating her own transition. For coaching support or to connect with C-Rene McLean directly, visit McLean Career and Life Coaching or schedule a consultation using the link in the show notes. Remember, your purpose evolves and you have permission to pivot. Until next time.