The Aftermath

Someone recently said to me, “I can’t wait to see what you’ve been planning during the aftermath.”  

By aftermath, they meant the period of time following my transition out of a company where I spent almost 22 years of my 32-year career.  

What I actually heard was “I can’t wait to see how you’re cultivating your new growth.”

Within the last eighteen months (my aftermath period), I became acquainted with a definition of the word that I had not previously heard.  Aftermath dates to the late 1400s and was originally an agriculture term to describe a second-growth crop, one that can be high-yielding.  It wasn’t until the mid-1600s that aftermath came to have the destructive meanings now all too familiar to us.       

Here’s what I’ve learned from personal experience: high-yield growth happens in discomfort.  

Specifically, the kind of discomfort that results from lack of alignment between who you are today and who you’re meant to be.  

If it sounds painful, believe me, it is. And yet, there is a way through. Here are four steps to take.

Notice and name the discord.  The first step is to notice the discord that is present in your body, your mind, or deep in your soul. When you pause and focus, you recognize that the lack of alignment literally sits within you.  

Get comfortable with the discomfort.  Sit with the discomfort and examine it.  This may be a lump in your throat, a pit in your stomach, a pain in your back or neck.  Or the subtle, nagging voice in your head that tells you what you’re seeing or hearing is not actually real.      

Access your authentic self.  Ask yourself what you value and what is your purpose.  The answers are found within you.  When you get clear, you can start to shape boundaries and your pathway forward.          

Chart your path to lead with authenticity.  With clarity on what you value and how you want to show up, you can begin charting your path as an authentic leader where you are aligned with your personality and values. 

Through this lens, the definition of aftermath is not something traumatic or destructive.  It is restorative and life-giving.