By Meredith |
In labor they have these things called “transitional contractions” They come between the normal surly contractions and push time — its own scary monster — the transitional contractions are grueling and push you to your mental and physical limit. Somewhere right in the middle of my second transitional contraction I recall gritting out, “these better be the transitional ones.” My mom and the nurse reassured me that they were, and then I knew I could carry on.
I recently downloaded my first audiobook (it’s going very well! I highly recommend it!). In telling my husband about my new conquest I said, “I just HAVE to be getting in more information in each day.” Why? Because I am having real life transitional contractions — I am feeling the squeeze on every side. That is the feeling of transition. And this better be the transitional part.
“Give into the contraction. Give into it.” That’s the phrase I repeated to myself, out loud, during labor. You see, as uncomfortable as it is, that contraction is there to help. And, it will get its way. That baby is coming out. Fighting your contractions, trying to resist the pain, these things will only prolong your process. It’s not too big of stretch to see the parallel tracks I’m drawing here. In life, the same thing is true. We can either choose to resist the (very) uncomfortable feeling that transition brings us. Or, we can give into it and get to the good part so much faster.
Here are my 5 Tips for Giving In:
Focus on the Goal
Set your lights with laser focus on the goal you are working toward. Picture it. Imagine it. Envision it. How do you look on the other side? Better, how do you feel? And, don’t forget, what has to change between here and there?
Know that it ends
“You can do almost anything as long as you know it has an ending.” A mentor in event planning told me this one week when I hadn’t been getting more than about 4 hours of sleep a night for 2 weeks leading into a major event and knew I had at least 5 more days to go. Sweet day 6, that kept me going. Transition, by nature, has an ending.
Talk to yourself
Self talk is one of the most powerful (and Biblical) tools that we have! Use it. I talked myself through labor (with some amazing help from my Husband, my mom & my SIL). I’ve talked myself through miles jogging with a stroller. And I am talking myself into the next level. (*it’s better if you say it with a little ‘tude → “talk to yo’ self!)
Embrace Discomfort
Embrace, that’s right, wrap your arms around that discomfort and thank it for its service to your progress. Make it welcome and warm. People who resist discomfort never break through, they find out it’s easier to just stay. Don’t be those people, you were born to do amazing things.
Get the right people in the room
As I mentioned, in labor, I had my husband, my mom and my SIL in the room with me. In addition, there were a few trained professionals — a delivery nurse and my doctor. Each of them had a very specific role to play. For brevity I will just make this distinction; the first three were personal people for me. They told me I could keep going when I wasn’t sure. The second two were professional people who had the skills required to see the whole process through. Be sure you have people who can support you. Don’t stop there though, find trained professionals, someone who has the skills you need or insight about where you are trying to go.
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. {Deuteronomy 31:8}
The Ryburns 