Looking Ahead When Change is Coming

Make the Unknown a Little More Known

There’s something comforting about the rearview mirror. Everything in it has already happened.

The windshield? Not so much.

That’s where all the unknown stuff lives.

A new school. A new job. A new home. A new support worker. Graduation. Retirement. Even an exciting change can come with a healthy dose of Okay…but what exactly is going to happen?

One of the best ways to make a transition easier is to make the future a little more visible.

Where are we going? Who will be there? What happens first? How long will it last? What happens afterward?

Visit the new place. Look at pictures. Meet the person. Write down the plan. Put it on the calendar. Talk about what will stay the same, not just what will change.

And remember, “We’ve already talked about this” doesn’t necessarily mean the information is readily available when it’s needed.

Sometimes we need to talk about it again.

And again.

Possibly again.

Give the Transition Some Runway

Some people can hear, “By the way, we’re doing something different today,” and simply roll with it.

Lovely for them.

For others, transitions need a little runway.

Knowing about a change ahead of time gives us space to process it, ask questions and become familiar with the idea before it happens.

That doesn’t mean every transition requires three weeks, two planning meetings and a colour-coded binder.

Sometimes a little runway is a five-minute warning before leaving the house. A reminder that an activity is almost finished. A calendar notification the day before an appointment.

We can’t eliminate every surprise from life. We’d need considerably more power than we currently possess for that.

But we can reduce some of the surprises we see coming.

Plan for the Getting There

When a transition is coming, we tend to focus on the destination.

The new school. The appointment. The job. The program. The trip.

But sometimes getting from here to there is the hardest part.

What needs to happen before leaving? What will the first few minutes look like? Will there be lots of people, noise or new information? Is there someone familiar nearby? Will some downtime be helpful afterward?

And then, of course, there’s life.

The bus is late. Someone calls in sick. The appointment moves. The carefully constructed Plan A takes one look at your beautiful schedule and heads straight out the window.

That’s where Plan B comes in.

We don’t need a backup plan for absolutely everything. But knowing “If this happens, here’s what we’ll do” can make an unexpected change feel a little less unexpected.

And if Plan B becomes Plan C?

Well, apparently we’re taking the scenic route.

Look for What’s Possible

When we know change is coming, it’s easy to focus on everything that might be difficult.

But transitions aren’t only about what we’re leaving behind or what could go wrong.

They’re also where new things begin.

A new environment can bring new relationships. A different routine may create opportunities for independence. A new support person might connect with someone in a way we didn’t expect. Someone may discover a strength they didn’t know they had.

Will there be bumps? Probably.

Detours? Almost certainly.

But there can also be growth, learning, connection and some pretty wonderful surprises along the way.

We don’t need to see the entire road before we start moving. Sometimes we just need to know what’s immediately ahead, have a few good supports in the car and remember what we’ve learned from the roads we’ve already travelled.

Keep an eye on the rearview mirror—but don’t forget to look through the windshield. There’s a lot of road ahead, and we don’t have to navigate it alone.