Transformation

What does it mean to be transformed?

• To change in composition or structure.
• To change in outward form or appearance.
• To change in character or condition.

The desire for change is usually a goal in the counselling process. We want to change the way we communicate, relate or feel towards ourselves or towards others. We want to change our thoughts or behaviours…we want to change or improve our relationships. We look for changes that will benefit our overall well-being.

At the same time, we know that change is something many of us fear. We can be afraid to make changes and be afraid that things around us will change. Some of us avoid changes. Just ask anyone who has moved jobs, schools or neighborhoods about what it was like to live through these changes. Or how the changes that came with the marriage or birth of the first child. Changes are viewed as challenging and that people “hate” change.

With change comes both welcomed and not so welcomed shifts.

When you begin your work at Canvas Counselling, I will speak with you about the risks and benefits of beginning this process of transformation or change. I often use this example: If one of your goals is to grow in assertiveness and you begin practicing your new awareness and skill acquired through the transformative process in assertive communication, not everyone in your world will see this new “you” favorably. Some may find your assertiveness inconvenient. You may even experience some tension in those relationships. This would be a risk associated with your process of transformation.

As you learn to stand up, there will be a ripple outward as the people in your life make their own adjustments to this new behavior. But the benefit of finding your voice…which may be your goal… outweighs the risk associated with the change.