Welcome to Part 1 of our 4-part Transformation Series!
“Transformation doesn’t begin with clarity. It begins with a tug. A tremble. A moment when the familiar stops fitting and something inside says, this can’t be all there is.”
We often imagine transformation as a clean break, a before-and-after snapshot. But in truth, it’s far murkier. Transformation rarely begins with clarity or inspiration. More often, it starts with quiet discomfort…
- The internal restlessness.
- To-do lists that start to feel hollow.
- Conversations you once enjoyed that now feel performative.
- Roles you’ve always played that no longer feel like they belong to you.
Here is the bottom line: that tug you feel? It’s not a problem, it’s an invitation. It’s the threshold where something deeper calls you forward, not to become something else, but to become more fully what you already are.
Change vs. Transformation: Not the Same Thing
We often confuse change with transformation, but they operate on very different levels.
- Change is often external: new job, new habits, new location, new goals.
- Transformation is internal: a new way of seeing, choosing, and being.
Change tweaks behavior. Transformation reconfigures identity.
You can change your calendar without changing your relationship to time. You can change jobs without changing the beliefs driving your burnout. You can change your habits without confronting the story of your worth. (Boy, oh, boy, do we have stories when it comes to that last one!)
Transformation says: Let’s get to the root.
And this is why transformation can be so uncomfortable. Roots run deep!
Our roots decide what we absorb and, ultimately, who we become. Unseen by the visible eye, our roots are shaping our thoughts, our choices, our patterns, our fruit.
Who’s ready to start digging?
A Hero’s Journey: You Are at the Threshold
Across centuries and cultures, the Hero’s Journey follows a familiar arc:
There’s a call. A refusal. A threshold. A descent. A test. And eventually, a return, wiser and changed.
The moment of transformation begins at the threshold: when you step away from what’s familiar, but you’re not yet sure what’s next.
In real life, this might sound like:
- “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”
- “This version of success doesn’t feel like mine.”
- “Something in me wants more, but I’m afraid of what I’d have to let go.”
The threshold moment is tender and terrifying. You’re leaving behind certainty. Identity. Safety.
In A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, Eckhart Tolle reminds us that transformation isn’t about striving – it’s about surrender. Like the ancient sea creatures that first emerged from water onto land, evolution doesn’t begin with certainty. It starts with necessity. They didn’t plan to grow lungs or walk on solid ground. They responded to the moment when the water could no longer sustain them. In the same way, transformation often begins when what once held us no longer nourishes us, and we’re called to adapt, to evolve, to become.
Transformation: Choice or Collision?
This is one of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself. What kind of transformation am I in? Am I being invited to grow or dared to rise?
Sometimes, you’ll hear the whisper. You’ll follow the nudge. You’ll get curious and begin the work.
Other times, the job disappears. The relationship dissolves. The system breaks, and you’re left in the rubble, unsure how to begin again.
Both are valid. Both can change you. But the difference lies in your agency.
- When you choose transformation, you’re an active participant in your unfolding. You are setting your own intentions. You are pursuing expansion.
- When transformation chooses you, you’re often playing catch-up, thrown into survival mode before you can make meaning of anything, but you still have agency. You can choose how to respond to your environment.
Chosen transformation builds clarity and courage.
Forced transformation builds resilience and depth.
Whichever path you’re on, what matters most is your willingness to engage with what’s being revealed.
Let’s get REAL and FEEL
Forget the corporate buzzwords or the woo-woo connotations you might associate with the word transformation. Here’s what it actually feels like-raw, real, and in motion:
- A tight grip, loosening sometimes unwillingly
- A quiet inner voice getting louder
- Fatigue from holding up masks that no longer serve you
- A craving for simplicity, honesty, alignment
- Grief for who you’ve been and maybe still love
- Hope that what’s next is better, even if you can’t see it yet
Transformation wakes you up in the middle of the night, nudging you to do something about that persistent scratch that annoys you all day. It can feel like a blur, a shedding, and maybe even a failure, but most of all it feels TRUE.
Like something in you is waking up.
Like you are coming home to yourself.
Embrace this, no matter how scary it may be!
Invitation to Grow: Are You at a Threshold?
Grab your journal or take a walk and let these questions simmer:
- Where in your life do things feel misaligned, even if they still “look good” on paper?
- What have you been tolerating that you’re no longer willing to carry?
- What version of you is ready to be thanked and maybe even released?
- If you could follow your intuition, not obligation, what would change?
Where We’re Headed Next
In the next blog, we’ll explore what happens after you cross the threshold – when you’re in the middle of the transformation, but the “after” hasn’t revealed itself yet. We’ll walk through how to trust the process even when you can’t see progress, using the AIM model (Awareness, Intuition, Movement) as your compass.
Until then, remember this:
Transformation doesn’t begin with certainty. It begins with willingness. And the moment you say yes to that quiet nudge inside you, the journey has already started.
Co-Authors:
Kessa Carrol, InteraWorks Content Design + Facilitator
Stacy Cross, InteraWorks Director of Content + Branding
About InteraWorks
InteraWorks is a global learning company on a mission to elevate the human experience at work. Specializing in professional development and performance enablement, we offer top-rated learning programs based on four defined conditions that must exist for individuals, teams including Effective Edge, Best Year Yet, and the Essentials series. Our integrated learning framework and online tools generate immediate and sustainable breakthroughs in performance. Through decades of working at all levels in enterprise companies across many industries, we’ve built a reputation for helping people and organizations harness their focus, mindset, talent, and energy to produce results that matter most.
We’ve defined four conditions that must exist for an individual, team, or organization to be effective within the arena of performance and development; Accountability, Focus, Alignment, and Integrity. We’ll continue to explore these and more in our blog and look forward to your engagement and interaction with us. Stay tuned as we engage the edges.
