Pass through the ‘river between’

CHANGE happens. Take each day as it comes, learn again and be willing to grow and change.

Hunt For Greatness

Milton Kamwendo

Between the present and the future, there is a special state.

Between the present and the next, there is a gap. This space, between leaving and arriving, can be uncomfortable, disorienting and challenging. This gap is called liminality.

Liminality is a station that you will go through. It is a place for shifting gears. It is the “clutch moment”. It is a place of transition and rebalancing. It is a place of tension between faith and fear, stability and change, remaining and leaving, danger and drama.

The key to surviving liminality is to linger without panicking, knowing that the next eventually unfolds.

This season of being set between two experiences was named by Arnold van Gennep as a state of “liminality”.

The liminal state occurs in between something that has ended and something else that is yet to begin. Liminality is found everywhere and what is important is to be aware of it and to go through it soberly.

In this “in-between season”, the sense of identity somewhat dissolves, bringing about disorientation. Anxiety is normal, but there is no excuse for irresponsible behaviour.

If you are not willing to think, stay shielded in the past. If you are not willing to learn, stay locked down. Learn to live on the edges, because everything is changing and shifting. Whatever is happening, never think from the podium of fear or platform of conceit.

In this in-between period, the past is no longer a sufficient anchor for the future. Traditional strategic thinking is not sufficient to navigate into the future. This is a place of challenge and opportunity, learning and risk, growth and transition, sense-making and strategic steering. The signals are talking and what is important is to read them clearly and adapt accordingly.

Learn and lead

Change, tension and chaos in liminality do not mean the world has ended. It does not mean there is no future. Trust the process. Keep your head when others are losing theirs. Hold dear the foundations of the past and be willing to accommodate evolving change.

Do not let the report of chaos, change, transition, evolution or disruption unsettle you. There are things that you will have to stop doing, because they will no longer serve you. There are things that you have to start doing because you have to move into the new. There are some that you have to sustain because there are things which do not change.

The sky is not falling. Stop frightening yourself and feeding your mind with horror tales. Faith and fear are intensified by what you feed your mind with. Feed on things that make you mentally stronger, focused and strategically sound.

Panic is not a strategy. Hysteria is not a business model. Dismay is not an operating model. Agitation is not a strategic pillar. Alarm is not a big bet. Consternation is not luminal leadership. Keep grounded and agile.

Confront fear with faith. Confront foreboding with a new vision of you playing in a new field. Confront apprehension with learning. Confront terror with tales of change and transformation. What you do not know you can learn. What you have never done you can start doing. What you do not have you can acquire.

Do not just forget everything and run wild in panic. There is nowhere to run to where you will not need to change, learn and grow. Stay on in the process, focused, taking disciplined action. Watch strategically and you will start seeing around the corners and a pathway shall be given to you.

Courage to change

The chaos you witness must be met with a grounded faith and bold thinking. Keep looking around the corners. Keep watching the horizon. Keep listening out for strong and weak signals.

It is when things are at their worst that the broad strokes of opportunities are brightest. Remain grounded and yet open to change. Be rooted and anchored. Whatever happens, determine that you will do more than survive.

Keep hope alive. The late Steve Biko once wrote: “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”

Whoever you allow to control your thinking will control your life.

Refuse to let circumstances, conditions, constraints, credentials or anything else that does not serve you become the script by which you live your life.

Live from your heart, not hurts. Do not let hate, bitterness, anger, revenge, evil, anger or cynicism become part of you.

Greatness comes when you learn to channel your positive energies and allow yourself to soar above your limitations and challenges.

Life is a whole series of necessary and threaded adventures.

Liminality is not finality. Use your period of waiting and evolving well. Cross the river between wisely. While you wait for greatness, maximise this moment because it is an essential piece of the tapestry of life. Rivers are to be crossed.

Make the most of the resetting opportunity. Do not waste moments of growth. Make the most of these humbling moments; you will miss them in the not-to-distant future. They will be your stripes soon.

Glance at the present but get ready to take off. Learn all you can as you wait. Learn all you can today as you grow towards all you could be tomorrow. This river between, you can cross. Hold your oars. Liminality is not a disease.

Committed to your greatness.

Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author, and an accomplished workshop facilitator. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: [email protected]