Movement: Something IS Shifting

I have not written a blog for a little while quite intentionally. I always wanted my blogs to be worth saying, rather than just adding to the already very loud noise out there. And while I felt myself shifting and changing in my own wintering, a notion I have discussed in other blogs, I felt it was more important to allow that time for change within me.

Yet over the last few days, and potentially as spring approaches, I found myself reflecting on what was happening in my own inner and outer world. I could feel movement in the air around me and sense the shifting and changing of my inner landscape; however, my outer reality was still frustrating, looking pretty much the same. I could feel my own impatience rising, the restlessness building, and even a sense of exhaustion that I didn’t really feel entitled to as there were no outward signs of the work I was doing.

For many women I work with who carry a lot for their families, their work, and their lives, the feelings of being emotionally stretched, uncertain, overwhelmed and depleted can leave behind a desperation for change, which normally presents as a need for movement, for something to shift.

Sensing this within myself, instead of pushing past it or silencing it, I became still and connected with what was really happening, just as I tell my clients to do.

The situation I have described above is part of the transformational process, but a part that is not often talked about. We want change, we want results and not to put too fine a point on it, we want them now. The age of instant gratification!

But the truth is that transformation has a process that we have to follow, otherwise we are not really inviting in true change. And that process has uncomfortable bits that we would all just as soon bypass, thank you very much.

This is the in-between. Where you are no longer the person you were, the container is too tight and you have outgrown it, but you are also not yet the person you are becoming. Just like the caterpillar, who is probably not having that much fun inside the chrysalis and has no idea the metamorphosis it is undergoing. It is no longer a caterpillar, but not yet a butterfly. It exists as both, and in this stage, so do we: both/and.

As a transformational coach for women, I often walk alongside clients through seasons of change; releasing, recalibrating, integrating and becoming. These are moments of movement but not always the kind we expect. While something is nearly always powerfully shifting internally, the outside world often hasn’t caught up yet.

And that space? Well… yes, it is frustrating. Slow. Uncertain. Filled with restlessness and impatience. And yes, it can be quite exhausting.

As I continued to reflect on myself, I realised I wasn’t resistant to change. I never really have been; my life has been filled with too many detours, curve balls and reinventions. What I did note though, I was resisting the timing, the when it happens, how it happens and how long it is taking!!! Did I mention I was feeling impatient?

My Mum used to say I was like my Dad: I might take a while to decide the action to take, but once there, I want it to happen now. In fact, yesterday if at all possible. And I cannot relax until I have made it so. Essentially, for those of you who play Monopoly, the do not pass Go, do not collect £200 approach.

What I realised is that I had set up an inner battle between the mind and the inner wisdom of my heart and soul.

The mind wants certainty, asking: “Where is this going? How long will it take? What should I do next?”

My inner wisdom, well, that takes a different tack, whispering: “wait…I’m still rearranging things, I’m still integrating, recalibrating, I am not yet done.”

And it was here that I realised that all parts of me actually want the same thing. They are not in opposition; they are all heading in the right direction, hence the feeling of movement; they just work at different speeds. This provides the key to understanding where you are on your movement journey.

Are you at the reality point of external visible results and concretised actions? Or, are you still working with your inner landscape? In which case, your actions might be to do nothing yet, saving yourself the frustration of misaligned choices or the overwhelm of uncertainty. It is human nature to see the crossroads coming, but you can’t take the path until you get there, and you may not know the right path until you are walking down it.

Growth has its own timing. It’s the unseen work that reshapes identity, loosens the stranglehold of outdated beliefs, identities, and personal narratives, while realigning energy and building the courage for change. All before external results “appear”.

I see this with my clients all the time and accept this within myself. The experience of powerful internal shifts, clarity, boundaries, new self-trust, and then the rising impatience when life doesn’t immediately change at the same pace. The questions that follow: “Did I do it right?” “Am I broken?” “Why does this work for everyone else but not for me?”

But transformation isn’t just becoming the butterfly. It’s also the moment after. When you realise you have wings, and you learn how to use them. This is not a battle; your urgency and inner knowing are not in conflict. They are moving in the same direction, just at different speeds.

Sometimes the movement forward isn’t about doing more, but staying open, trusting the process, holding the space you are already in with the puzzle pieces you already have, allowing the bigger picture to form. And this, this is what takes courage.

Not every pause on your journey is stagnation. Often, it’s a sacred recalibration. So, if you are also in the in-between right now, feeling that shift but not yet seeing the outcome, you’re not stuck. You’re transforming. Stay with it. Your inner wisdom and intention are rearranging the path ahead. It will be worth the wait.

If you’re in a season of transition and want support moving through the in-between, I would love to walk with you. You can find out more about working with me here.

Stay curious

Johanna x

Curiously-U – Transformational coaching for women