As we step into 2025, the world feels more unpredictable than ever. Wars rage on in the Middle East, gender apartheid continues in Afghanistan, and the swearing-in of US President Donald Trump underscores a surge of right-wing leadership globally. These seismic shifts leave many of us grappling with fear, uncertainty, and a sense of being unmoored.
For mission-driven women at a crossroads, this uncertainty can feel like a call to retreat or an invitation to rise. If you’re an empath or someone deeply attuned to the world’s pain, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, as though you’re carrying the weight of these changes on your shoulders. The emotional rollercoaster of navigating fear, doubt, and hope can drain your energy and clarity.
But take heart: you’re not alone, and you’re not powerless. Understanding how our brains react to uncertainty can help us break free from the paralysis of fear. Our amygdala—the part of the brain wired to detect threats—reacts to change by triggering stress hormones. These hormones push us into fight, flight, or freeze mode, impairing our ability to think clearly, make decisions, and take meaningful action. If prolonged, this stress can harm our health, leading to burnout, autoimmune disorders, or even more severe chronic illnesses.
How, then, can we as mission-driven women reclaim our focus, productivity, and creativity in such turbulent times? By intentionally adopting practices that nurture our minds, bodies, and spirits, we can turn this crossroads into a powerful pivot point for growth and leadership.
8 Life-Saving Practices to Navigate Change and Uncertainty
Pause and Breathe Deeply When anxiety strikes, take three slow, deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth, exhaling audibly. This simple act activates oxytocin, a hormone that calms your nervous system and brings immediate relief.
Prioritize Daily Self-Care Begin each morning by asking yourself, “How do I want to nurture myself today?” Whether it’s a heartfelt chat with a friend, a soothing bubble bath, or a leisurely walk, honor your needs and make time for self-care.
Connect with Nature Spend at least 30 minutes daily outdoors. Walking among trees lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, and strengthens your immune system. Nature’s grounding energy can help you regain clarity and balance.
Engage Your Creative Side Tap into activities that bring you joy and help you lose track of time, such as painting, writing, gardening, or trying a new recipe. Reconnect with childhood dreams by exploring hobbies you’ve always wanted to try, like singing or playing an instrument.
Incorporate Meditation Start a daily meditation practice using apps like Headspace, Calm, or guided experiences like Deepak Chopra’s 21-day meditations. Even five minutes of mindfulness can help you reset and cultivate resilience.
Get Adequate Sleep Prioritize rest by aiming for at least eight hours of sleep each night. If you’re feeling particularly drained, experiment with going to bed earlier, ideally before 10 p.m.
Clarify Your Priorities Reflect on what truly matters in your life and work. Create an action plan to align your daily efforts with these priorities, and release commitments or relationships that no longer serve you.
Practice Mindfulness Integrate mindfulness into your day by savoring small moments—whether it’s enjoying your morning coffee or fully focusing during a meeting. Being present helps you navigate challenges with grace and intention.
Embrace Change as a Catalyst for Growth
Uncertainty doesn’t have to paralyze you. By adopting these life-saving practices, you can reclaim your power, stay grounded, and turn life’s crossroads into opportunities for purposeful action.
What strategies have you found most helpful when navigating intense stress and uncertainty? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
For more insights and tools, download my free “Art of Change Framework”—a 5-step process to help you embrace, rather than resist, change—at pamela-thompson.com.
As the year winds down, December offers us a unique opportunity to pause and reflect—a chance to honor the journey we’ve traveled, celebrate our wins, and intentionally set the tone for the year ahead. For mission-driven women navigating crossroads, this process is especially meaningful. It’s a way to reconnect with your purpose, realign your vision, and step boldly into a new chapter.
Over the years, I’ve developed a simple yet powerful year-end process that has helped me and women I work with to transform transitions into opportunities for growth. Here’s how you can make the most of this reflective season.
Step 1: Reflect on the Year That’s Passed
Start by looking back on 2024. This isn’t just about what you achieved, but also about what you learned and how you’ve grown. Journaling about these prompts can help you uncover the deeper meaning in your experiences:
What accomplishments am I most proud of this year?
What am I most grateful for in 2024?
What lessons have I learned about myself, my relationships, my work, and my purpose?
Where did I face challenges, and how did I grow through them?
This step isn’t about perfection—it’s about recognizing your progress and the value of every experience, even the difficult ones.
Step 2: Release What No Longer Serves You
Before you can fully embrace the new year, it’s important to let go of what might be holding you back. Reflect on what you’re ready to release:
Outdated beliefs or habits.
Fear of stepping into your full power.
Lingering doubts or regrets.
Consider a symbolic act to mark this release—write down what you’re letting go of and burn the paper or release it mentally during a quiet moment of meditation.
Step 3: Set Bold Intentions for 2025
Now comes the exciting part: envisioning what you want your life to look and feel like in 2025. Intentions are more than goals—they’re statements of alignment that anchor you to your values and vision. Write them in the present tense, as though they’ve already come true.
Here are some examples to guide you:
Personal Life: “I live with clarity and confidence, fully embracing my gifts, strengths, and purpose. I trust myself to navigate life’s transitions with grace.”
Health & Well-Being: “I feel vibrant and strong, prioritizing daily practices like yoga, meditation, and time in nature. I radiate energy and vitality.”
Financial Abundance: “I earn $___ thousand monthly doing work I love. I feel financially secure and empowered to make a meaningful impact.”
Spiritual Growth: “I am deeply connected to my inner wisdom. My meditation practice helps me stay grounded and aligned with my highest purpose.”
Creativity & Intellectual Growth: “I approach life with curiosity and creativity, effortlessly bringing fresh ideas to my writing, workshops, and collaborations.”
Step 4: Review and Celebrate Throughout the Year
Your intentions are not something you set once and forget. Keep them visible—write them in your journal, pin them to a vision board, or save them as a note on your phone. Revisit them quarterly to check in on your progress and celebrate your milestones, no matter how small.
Celebration is vital. It energizes you and reinforces the belief that you are moving in the right direction. As you step into the new year, make time to acknowledge your growth and all you’ve achieved.
Why December Is the Perfect Time
December isn’t just the end of a calendar year; it’s a natural transition point—a bridge between where you’ve been and where you’re going. By taking time to reflect and set intentions, you’re honoring both the endings and beginnings that define your journey.
Ready to Step Into 2025 with Confidence?
I invite you to try this year-end process for yourself. Take a quiet evening to journal your reflections, release what no longer serves you, and set bold intentions for the year ahead.
Let’s make 2025 a year of purpose, growth, and fulfillment. Share your thoughts or intentions in the comments—I’d love to hear from you!
Are you in the “New Beginning” phase? Based on more than 30 thirty years working with people and organizations, William Bridges, an organizational theorist, identified that regardless of the transition you are going through there are three distinct phases: 1) an Ending; 2) a Neutral Zone; and 3) a New Beginning. He also discovered that there is work associated with each phase and if we don’t do the work, we often keep repeating the same patterns in our lives and remaining unhappy and unfilled.
Bridges differentiated between a life change and a transition; a change being something external and situational, something tangible such as a separation agreement or a pink slip. Whereas a transition is internal and psychological; the internal work we do to reorient, integrate and readjust to our new external reality.
I’ve gone through many transitions in my life and have been fortunate to have chosen many of them rather than having them imposed on me. That said, both types of transitions require time, introspection, and benefit from tools to support the process.
I will apply Bridge’s phases to the current transition I am in with the hope that they will be useful to you.
Phase 1: The Ending
In late September 2023, I handed over the leadership of Female Wave of Change Canada – https://fwoccanada.com, a national, member-based non-profit I incorporated in December 2020 with the aim to build the community and grow the Female Wave of Change – https://femalewaveofchange.com movement in Canada. It was truly a passion project. I felt so aligned with the mission, vision and values of this organization and of Ingun Bol the founder.
That said, within the third year I started to feel tired and that I wanted to open up space to do more creative work. I waited for the appropriate time (e.g. until the Board positions were filled with good people who worked well together). I was clear and announced to the Board in early May of 2023 that by the end of September at our next Annual General Meeting (AGM) I would be handing over the reins of leadership. Fortunately, two extremely capable, heart-centered women leaders came forward to Co-Lead the organization and officially became Co-Presidents at our AGM.
The work of the Ending phase is “letting go” and I added to Bridge’s model “identifying lessons learned”.
In this transition What did I let go of?
The status associated with being President of a vibrant and growing community
Regular connections with the Board
Regular connections with the Global Strategy Team
Co-creating monthly gatherings with featured guests
Certain Structure in my days and weeks.
What lessons did I learn?
When I listen to my body’s wisdom and follow it everything works
It takes time to move from the ending, through the neutral zone to the new beginning even when you have clarity on your next goal/vision
The biggest lesson I learned is that you need to integrate the New Beginning into your body; it can’t only be a goal/vision in your head. This takes time and some healing. It cannot be rushed.
I realized I was really tired but didn’t give myself time immediately after the handover to rest up. Instead, I planned and went on an amazing three-week adventure to Portugal with a dear friend. It was great to reward myself, and important to recognize that I needed to take time after to nourish myself, rather than starting my next project.
How many times have you ended something, had clarity on your next area of focus and yet were challenged to get started?
That was my experience. Even though I wanted to open space to do more creative work, in particular, to write my third book, I found it difficult to get started. The best thing I did was not to force myself to start writing that book until I felt ready. It’s taken a few months of truly listening to my body and sleeping nine, ten and eleven hours a night and a three-week vacation in Mexico with my Sweetie to finally feel like I am ready to begin.
I share this experience and these lessons with you as when you are a driven person often you check things off the list, set your new goal and begin the next project without taking a break or celebrating. However, we all need time to let go, identify and integrate the lessons learned, celebrate, and re-energize and nourish ourselves.
I hope you found this post useful and welcome your comments and questions below.
The American Heritage dictionary defines adrift as:
“1. Drifting or floating freely; not anchored
2. Without (clear) direction or purpose.”
Here’s how I’m feeling adrift. I’m sleeping more than 9 hours a night. I feel low energy, particularly in mid-afternoon. I’m feeling overwhelmed by the number of emails in my inbox even though I’ve unsubscribed to many and now have two less email addresses to deal with. I opened up space for more creative projects, and in spite of knowing what my next book in general will be about, I haven’t yet started writing it. Even though my phrase for this year is “Playful Creativity”, I’m being challenged to be playful or creative. My passion and zest for life seems to have gotten up and run away.
I’ve been coaching people going through a variety of life transitions individually and in groups since 2009. My inner critic is saying: “You teach people how to navigate life transitions and have a 5-step Art of Change Framework”, don’t you know how to navigate this transition with ease, grace and playfulness?”
You’ve likely heard the phrase, “we teach what we most need to learn”. As someone whose gone through many personal and professional transitions, I am STILL learning.
I recently handed over the leadership of a national non-profit I founded. It is now led by two amazing women leaders, and I feel like I did a good job handing it over. For example, I facilitated the strategic plan for the next three years with the Board, and the one-year operational plan for this year. I’ve worked collaboratively with my Board since launching the organization and left a very strong Board who work well together. I thought I was clear on the next steps in my personal and professional life, yet I am still feeling adrift.
Is anyone out there feeling similarly or have you in the past? If you are or have in the past, I welcome your thoughts and comments below.
“I invite you to join me on the journey back in time where I share key life transitions and lessons learned along the way. It is my hope that you will glean some new insights, better understand yourself and others, and realize you are not alone.”(The Exploits of Minerva: Reflections of a Sixty-Something Woman, p. 4 – https://old.pamela-thompson.com/books)
Minerva is a playful and sensitive woman in her mid-sixties. She believes that life is an adventure to be lived to the fullest and lives her life according to that mantra. Minerva has experienced numerous life transitions including divorce, finding the love of her life, burnout, living and working on five continents … . She learns valuable lessons and gains support from her women’s circle that she meets with every two weeks. The five women in the Circle have been supporting each other through a variety of life transitions for over two decades. They share their raw and real stories in this part-memoir, part self-help guide.
To help you reflect on your own journey and those of other women in your life, I’ve created a series of questions. They are intended for discussion in a book club. That said you may also use them to learn more about yourself and other women in your life who are similar to the characters in this story.
Potential Book Club Questions:
What characteristics draw you to Minerva, if any?
Which experience or experiences of Minerva do you most relate to and why?
What is Minerva’s main struggle? What does she have to learn to overcome and deal with internally?
Of the other women in the Women’s Circle, which ones are you drawn to and why?
Do you feel you have a better understanding of certain life transitions after reading this book? If so, which ones and why?
Reading “The Exploits of Minerva” has … ?
Would you recommend this book to others? If yes, who and why?
I welcome your comments and responses to these questions below.
What is the difference between a life change and a life transition? A life change is external and situational; something tangible such as a separation agreement or a “pink slip” when you lose a job. Whereas a life transition is internal and psychological. It is the internal work we do to reorient and readjust ourselves to our new external reality.[1]
Many of us do the life change but do not do what I call the “transition journey work”. When we only do the life change, we often keep repeating the same patterns in our lives and become frustrated and unfulfilled. An example is someone who consistently chooses new positions for the money without understanding and choosing based on their passions and what makes their soul sing. Another is someone who marries three, four or five times and after the initial honeymoon phase ends up in each relationship dealing with the same issues again and again and again, and either stays in the relationship and remains unhappy and unfulfilled or leaves and starts the process again.
The Benefits of doing the Internal Work
When we commit and take the time to do the internal psychological work and switch our beliefs and actions from resisting to embracing change, we no longer perceive change as a threat.
So how do you learn to embrace change and view it as a creative process that opens you up to new possibilities?
By understanding yourself and how you respond to change and why. And having a framework and tools to support you to navigate the journey.
The Art of Change Framework
Based on over 30 years of experience working with people and organizations in volatile environments including conflict zones, I created the “Art of Change Framework”. It is based on the metaphor “life is a dance” and underpinned by the belief that “embracing change is a creative process that opens us up to new possibilities.” Faced with yet another life transition, I decided to apply the “Art of Change Framework” to that transition and document the journey so I could share it with others.
On October 7, 2022, I had hip replacement surgery for my left hip. Due to osteoarthritis, I hardly had any cartilage left in it. That was the first major surgery I’d had.
My Transition Journey: Applying the “Art of Change Framework”
Step 1 – The first step in the “Art of Change Framework” is Shine the Light. This is where you explore how you respond to change and why.
Rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in terms of how you typically respond to change “1” being “scares me to death” and “10” being “I thrive on it”. I rate myself as a “9” as I typically enjoy change and starting and experiencing new things. Perhaps you relate. The next activity is Rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in terms of how you typically respond to a change that is imposed on you and that “comes out of the blue” such as when you receive a lay-off notice or when your partner says they no longer love you. I rate myself as a “6” on this scale.
Step 2 – Choose Your Dance – This is where you choose the transition you want to focus on, as it is preferable to focus on one transition at a time. The transition I’m choosing to focus on is my hip replacement surgery.
Step 3 – Feel the Rhythm and Learn the Steps – In this step you begin doing the work associated with where you are on your transition journey that includes: 1) an ending; 2) a neutral zone; and 3) a new beginning (adapted from the work of William Bridges). Each phase has work associated with it. The work associated with the ending is letting go and identifying lessons learned.
What did I have to let go of as part of my hip replacement surgery?
Fear I had about “going under the knife”
The emotions associated with grief; losing my once healthy hip, the one that had enabled me to run, jump, swim, hike … for all those years
The belief that I had somehow caused my hip cartilage to deteriorate based on all of the track and field, running, and jumping and other sports I have done since my youth
My independence as I had to let my partner and others support me during my recovery
The ability to do activities I regularly do such as yoga, walking in nature, swimming, hiking …
The belief that I’m getting old and as we age our health declines.
Step 4 – Practice, Practice, Practice – This step involves embracing change in your body and continuing to do the work associated with the phase of the transition journey you are in.
As part of the ending phase above, what lessons did I learn from the experience?
Patience; I had to learn that recuperating from this type of surgery takes time; at least three to six months
To reach out and ask for support
To receive and be okay depending on the physical and emotional support of others
What an amazing caregiver my partner Alan is
I am challenged to sit still and not be physically active
This provided me the opportunity to pause, reflect and take stock of my life and identify the many people and things I am grateful for
I received the insight that as it was my left hip that was replaced, it is representative of my feminine side. Perhaps my new hip will have “amped up” my feminine energy and help me to spend more time in flow and move forward more quickly and easily without driving and striving.
The neutral zone is the phase between the ending and the new beginning. The work of this phase is to get clear and envision the life, relationship, career of your dreams. It provides an opportunity to create and visualize what your new life will look and feel like. This can also be a fearful place as you have “taken the leap”, are entering unknown territory, and you’re not sure what’s on the other side or whether there is a net to catch you.
I could have chosen not to go on the surgical wait list about a year ago, but after encouragement from my partner I said yes.
What will my new life look like? I see myself:
playing with my grandkids, going up and down slides with them (including water slides), climbing on recreational equipment
kayaking with my Sweetie, going on motorcycle rides, and feeling comfortable on the back of Alan’s motorbike
awakening each day feeling whole, healthy and without pain
hiking and walking with friends and family on a regular basis
doing yoga three or more times a week
believing that life continues to be an adventure to be lived to the fullest
Step 5 – Share Your Dance with the World – In this step, due to the positive ways you respond to change, you inspire and are a positive role model for others.
In Conclusion
Applying the “Art of Change Framework” to my recent hip replacement experience reaffirmed for me that the 5-step “Art of Change Framework” and process takes you on a journey that transforms you from resisting and fearing change to moving through personal and professional transitions with greater ease, grace, and playfulness, resulting in increased clarity and confidence.
If the “Art of Change Framework” resonates for you, I encourage you to apply it to your own personal and professional transitions. I welcome your comments and questions below.
[1] Bridges, William, Transitions; Making Sense of Life’s Changes. Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2004.
