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Are you at a point where you’re questioning everything about your life right now? Maybe you’re feeling uncertain, like the ground beneath you is shifting, and nothing feels as stable as it once did. It’s that messy, uncomfortable feeling that hits when the things you rely on, routines, relationships, or even your sense of purpose suddenly feel out of place. You thought life was headed in the right direction until it didn’t.
Stop for a moment and listen to what your inner shakedown is trying to tell you.
Because here’s a liberating truth: that unsettling feeling is a sign, a call for change, an opportunity to step into something greater and redefine your next season.
In this episode, I’m sharing what I call an “inner shakedown” moment I went through last summer, how it shook things up for me and sparked deep reflection. The thing about our life’s unexpected curveballs is that while challenging, they often become powerful catalysts for growth. So, if you’re in the midst of your own inner shakedown, or perhaps you’ve experienced one before. Whatever the case, I hope this sheds light on the purpose these moments serve in our lives and how we can navigate them with greater clarity and grace.
What Is an Inner Shakedown?
So, what is an inner shakedown, and why does it happen? This shakedown felt like an existential crisis triggered by a series of life changes, or what I call “presenting situations.” These events shake our inner foundations and force us to re-evaluate who we are and where we are going. Maybe you’ve had one too. It could be a new job, a layoff, a significant loss, or even something seemingly small. Regardless of the cause, an inner shakedown feels like everything that once worked for you is now falling apart.
For me, the presenting situations were a mix of several changes: another child starting college, temporarily relocating to a new state to support my youngest son, and losing a beloved family member. It was like everything familiar was being stripped away, leaving me questioning so much about my life. But really, it’s been the catalyst to brings all the underlying issues and emotions to the surface. As uncomfortable as they are, these moments are necessary to give us a chance to heal and evolve so we can dive into what we really want now.
What Happens During a Shakedown?
Inner shakedowns often occur during times of transition or loss. As I’ve come to realize, every change brings with it some form of loss, and with loss comes grief. Whether it’s the grief of the past or anticipatory grief for the future, these feelings invite us to dive deeper into our inner game. They force us to confront our histories, our old coping habits, and the ways we’ve managed life up to this point.
These moments aren’t just emotionally messy and painful. They also bring up our deepest fears and vulnerabilities, making us feel lost and uncertain about what’s to come. But as uncomfortable as they are, they’re also necessary.
How to Navigate an Inner Shakedown
As difficult as inner shakedowns are, they hold immense potential for growth if we can learn to navigate them. Here are key ways to make them a little easier:
Identify “Something Is Off”
The first step in any inner shakedown is to acknowledge that something is off. Denying or avoiding these feelings only intensifies the upheaval. Embrace the discomfort and let your feelings guide you. Our emotions are like a GPS, pointing us toward what needs disassembling so it can be transformed. Rather than resisting your feelings, give yourself permission to experience them fully.
As Robert Frost’s poem said, “The only way out is through.”
So, think of shakedowns as tunnels. We have to pass through them to emerge on the other side because one thing is for sure: ignoring these signals will only amplify the noise and pain —internally and externally.
Ask for Help
One of the critical lessons from my experience is the importance of seeking help, whether through prayer, therapy, or seeking support from friends and family. Long gone are the days when I tried to do everything on my own. When we allow others to walk with us through our struggles, we not only heal faster but also grow stronger.
Choose Your Response
We may not be in control of what happens to us, but we are in control of how we respond to it. This is where our true power lies, and that’s the essence of an inner shakedown. In my case, a powerful quote by Viktor Frankl provided clarity:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
This concept of choice reminded me that how we respond to our feelings and experiences is ultimately up to us, even when life feels out of control.
Write It Down
Journaling has been one of the most powerful tools I’ve found during my inner shakedown moments. Putting thoughts to paper allows you to clarify what’s happening in your head and process your emotions.
As Joan Didion said, “I write to find out what I’m thinking.” Writing allows us to slow down, reflect, and tune into the emotions we might otherwise overlook. It creates a bridge between the chaos in our mind and the clarity we seek, giving us space to acknowledge the feelings and begin the shift toward healing and growth.
Just 10–12 minutes a day writing about your emotions can shift your perspective and lead to meaningful growth and transformation.
Pivotal journal questions to ask yourself during these inner shakedowns:
- What is it that I feel? Identify your current emotional state and the thoughts that are leading to these feelings.
- What do I want to feel today? Notice the gap between your thoughts and the emotions they’re triggering and ask yourself what you truly want to feel. Clarity about what you want begins to emerge in this step.
- What do I need to let go of that I think I need? Identifying and releasing unsupportive attachments or coping habits opens the space to know what you want in this next season.
By embracing the discomfort of the inner shakedown and using it as a catalyst for change, we can navigate through life’s tunnels, emerging more aligned with our true selves.
If you’re in the middle of a shakedown, know you’re not alone. These messy, painful, but ultimately transformative moments are part of the human experience. Keep moving through it, and trust that something greater is on the other side.
In this episode, I share:
- How moments of emotional turbulence or life transitions can serve as our fuel for the work and life that we have not dived into —but that is waiting
- The importance of recognizing and accepting uncomfortable emotions as a map for elevating ourselves.
- Simple and effective ways to navigate change with less pain and more ease.
Resources and related episodes:
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About Rita Hyland
With over 20 years of experience as an executive and leadership coach, Rita helps leaders — emerging and established — excel in corporate and entrepreneurial environments.
Rita believes if leaders were more clear about how transformation really works and more intentional about creating what they want, their impact, success, and influence in the world would be unstoppable.
Through her coaching programs, private coaching, and masterminds, Rita shows leaders how to win consistently and create the impact and legacy they desire.
Central to Rita’s work is the understanding that you will never outperform your current programming, no matter how strong your willpower.
When you learn to use Rita’s proprietary Inside Out Method, a technology that uses the best of neuroscience and transformational psychology to hit the brain’s buttons for change, YOU become both the solution and the strategy.
Her mission is to end talented, hard-working, and self-aware leaders spending another day stuck in self-doubt or confusion and not contributing their brilliant work and talent the world so desperately needs.
