5 Tips for Riding the Wave

Our departure to Rio de Janeiro is imminent. The count down has started. Little bursts of anxiety shoot through me when I think about it and I stamp them out with a thick layer of denial and a smattering of being in the moment.  Transitions are weird, usually an uneven combination of 'see-ya-laters,' and 'here I come!' The thing is, every change however big or small has a transition period, whether you're kicking your crusty boss to the curb and his little job too, moving to another country to seriously exercise your cultural appreciation skills, or moving in with a slightly unstable roommate which might turn out to be totally cool, or violently wrong. Here are my top 5 tips for riding the transition wave; surf's up!

1. Celebrate your goodbyes over and over again. Plan lots of goodbye brunches, weekends away, dinners, and parties and spread them out over several weeks. Let yourself be appreciated and be grateful for all the people who love you.

2. Concentrate on the good stuff that the transition will bring. For us that would be: sun, fresh tropical fruits, sipping on ice cold coconut water after a good run on the beach, new places to discover, new animals to see, new holidays to take, new people to meet, a new language to learn, and being with our Brazilian family.

3. Up the self-care. It's so easy when we're busy tying things up on one end and planning for the next thing to forget about ourselves.  It's really the best time to take long baths and long walks, to eat properly and go to bed early, to meditate, and to primp and pamper yourself.

4. Use transition as a means to transform yourself. Make a fresh start so to speak. Who knows maybe when I get back I will be on my way to being a famous samba guitar player, or I'll start a new bikini trend on the beach?

5. Practice being even more authentic. You know when you meet a Scottish person and their accent gives them instant pizazz? I've always wanted to go to a country where my seemingly non-accent would give me some of that pizazz. While going from one place to another, from one job to another, from one partner to none or whatever, you can get back to your real self again, and hang on to it tighter this time. Going to Brazil will bring out my Canadian-Vancouverite-creative-practical-love of nature-laughter seeking self even more, and give me some of that pizzaz that gets diluted when I live here.

Like the Corcovado; open your arms and let it all soak in!