WEBVTT
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:07.200
There's a myth about transition that almost everyone believes, and that is that it ends.
00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:20.320
Hi, this is Jordana, the CEO of the Recon Network and host of the In Brief Podcast, and today we're talking about one of the biggest misconceptions about life after service, the idea that transition is something that you finish.
00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:32.320
We're going to talk about why transition never really ends, why that's actually good news, and how learning to navigate change instead of just surviving it might be the most valuable skill you ever build.
00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:35.600
This is in brief.
00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:37.039
Let's get to it.
00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:55.520
There's a window about 12 months before separation and about 12 months after.
00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:57.520
All of our programs are built around it.
00:00:57.679 --> 00:00:59.200
Checklists are built around it.
00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:05.599
And the message underneath all of it is this get through the window, land the job, and you're done.
00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:08.959
Check, transitioned, all complete.
00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:15.359
But ask a fellow veteran five years after that endpoint, or someone 10 years out.
00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:19.519
What they'll tell you may have different points, but the message is the same.
00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:29.359
The job changed, the city changed, the marriage changed, the kids grew up, the career that made sense at 35 stopped making sense at 45.
00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:36.000
And every one of those changes asked the same questions the original transition out of the military did.
00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:37.359
Who am I now?
00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:38.879
What matters to me?
00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.040
And what do I do next?
00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:45.680
The thing about transition is that it doesn't end, it just repeats.
00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:47.519
And that's not a design flaw.
00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:58.480
That's just what life is: a series of changes, some chosen, some forced, with each one requiring you to reorient, readjust, redefine.
00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:04.719
One of the clearest ways to look at it is this the military separation you went through wasn't the transition.
00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:06.879
It was a transition.
00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:12.240
A big one, maybe, the loudest one possibly, but definitely not the last.
00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:18.639
But here's why it matters, especially to those going through that initial military to civilian transition now.
00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:23.280
If you treat transition as a one-time event, you approach it like a task.
00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:26.400
It becomes something to complete and put behind you.
00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:32.000
And then when the next big change comes, and it will come, you're caught off guard.
00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:38.319
You get forced back into the job market or feel like things never truly settled, and you think something went wrong.
00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:47.280
The natural thought pattern for many at this point is that you failed the first transition because why else would you be back in the fog again?
00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:51.680
Now in the military, change is constant, but it is managed for you.
00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:54.560
New duty station, new role, new team.
00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.360
The system moved you and the system caught you.
00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:00.800
Orders told you where to go, but structure told you how to land.
00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:07.919
So you experience constant change without ever needing to build your own internal machinery for navigating it.
00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:19.680
The machinery was external, and if you made a career out of military service, it's quite likely that you never acquired the skills, at least consciously, to map out your own path forward.
00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:23.680
But civilian life, nah, it hands you the change without the system.
00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.400
And that's the actual work of transition.
00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:32.960
Not finding the job, not picking the city, but building your own system for moving through change.
00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:37.120
And yes, it can be tiring, and yes, it can be frustrating.
00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:43.360
But the good news is that once you have that, every future transition gets more manageable.
00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.599
So what does that system look like?
00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:54.479
Well, it looks like knowing how to stabilize when the ground shifts, protecting your sleep, your routine, and the basics before making any big moves.
00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:02.479
It looks like knowing how to orient, taking honest inventory about where you actually are instead of where you plan to be.
00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:08.960
And it looks like knowing how to align, making your next moves match your current values, not your old ones.
00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:14.240
So stabilize, orient, align, then move.
00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:25.920
That sequence works for military separation, but it also works for divorce, job loss, relocation, loss of a friend, retirement, the emptiness.
00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.399
For every transition you haven't hit yet, but will in the future.
00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:37.360
And when you get to the point where you've created and adapted your own sequence of events, then you'll start seeing a shift.
00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:40.160
You stop asking, when will this be over?
00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:43.600
And start asking, what is this one teaching me?
00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:47.600
Because every transition you navigate makes you better at the next one.
00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:50.079
Skills compound and the fear shrinks.
00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:58.000
Not because the changes get smaller, they actually in a lot of cases get bigger, but because your capacity to handle them gets bigger.
00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:01.439
Think about people you know who seem steady no matter what happens.
00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:08.000
They are unshakable, always able to pivot or adapt without a lot of chaos or interruption.
00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:10.959
But they're not actually people who avoided change.
00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:15.439
They've just been through enough of it to trust themselves inside of the change.
00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:18.319
Their steadiness isn't luck, it's repetition.
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:27.519
So, if you're in the middle of a transition right now and it feels like it's taking too long, like you should be done by now, you need to let that expectation go.
00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:28.879
You're not behind.
00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:30.879
There is no true deadline.
00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.839
This isn't a test you pass and then move on from.
00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:39.279
This is a skill that you are building for the rest of your life, and it takes as long as it takes.
00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:48.639
And if you've been out for years and you feel the fog rolling in again with a new season or new questions or new uncertainties, that's not regression either.
00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:50.959
That's just the next transition arriving.
00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:56.000
And this time you have something you didn't have the first time: experience.
00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:00.240
So keep in mind the goal is not to finish transitioning.
00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:04.160
It's not a checklist and stop seeing it as a destination.
00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:15.120
The goal, the true goal, is to see life's changes as a part of the path and to become someone who can move through change without losing themselves inside of it.
00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:24.800
Leaving the military can feel chaotic, especially when you feel you should have a plan right away.
00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:28.160
But not knowing what's next doesn't mean you're failing.
00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:30.000
It means you're in transition.
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:46.560
At the Recon Network, we help veterans and military spouses navigate transition by focusing on stability, direction, and alignment before outcomes are expected, so you can map your future without rushing the wrong move or spending years building a life out of sync with your purpose.
00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:48.800
Don't rush your next step.
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.600
Navigate it with intention with Recon.
00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:56.480
Learn more about our programs and services at recon.vet.
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:07.200
There's a myth about transition that almost everyone believes, and that is that it ends.
00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:20.320
Hi, this is Jordana, the CEO of the Recon Network and host of the In Brief Podcast, and today we're talking about one of the biggest misconceptions about life after service, the idea that transition is something that you finish.
00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:32.320
We're going to talk about why transition never really ends, why that's actually good news, and how learning to navigate change instead of just surviving it might be the most valuable skill you ever build.
00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:35.600
This is in brief.
00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:37.039
Let's get to it.
00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:55.520
There's a window about 12 months before separation and about 12 months after.
00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:57.520
All of our programs are built around it.
00:00:57.679 --> 00:00:59.200
Checklists are built around it.
00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:05.599
And the message underneath all of it is this get through the window, land the job, and you're done.
00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:08.959
Check, transitioned, all complete.
00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:15.359
But ask a fellow veteran five years after that endpoint, or someone 10 years out.
00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:19.519
What they'll tell you may have different points, but the message is the same.
00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:29.359
The job changed, the city changed, the marriage changed, the kids grew up, the career that made sense at 35 stopped making sense at 45.
00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:36.000
And every one of those changes asked the same questions the original transition out of the military did.
00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:37.359
Who am I now?
00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:38.879
What matters to me?
00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.040
And what do I do next?
00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:45.680
The thing about transition is that it doesn't end, it just repeats.
00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:47.519
And that's not a design flaw.
00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:58.480
That's just what life is: a series of changes, some chosen, some forced, with each one requiring you to reorient, readjust, redefine.
00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:04.719
One of the clearest ways to look at it is this the military separation you went through wasn't the transition.
00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:06.879
It was a transition.
00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:12.240
A big one, maybe, the loudest one possibly, but definitely not the last.
00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:18.639
But here's why it matters, especially to those going through that initial military to civilian transition now.
00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:23.280
If you treat transition as a one-time event, you approach it like a task.
00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:26.400
It becomes something to complete and put behind you.
00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:32.000
And then when the next big change comes, and it will come, you're caught off guard.
00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:38.319
You get forced back into the job market or feel like things never truly settled, and you think something went wrong.
00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:47.280
The natural thought pattern for many at this point is that you failed the first transition because why else would you be back in the fog again?
00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:51.680
Now in the military, change is constant, but it is managed for you.
00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:54.560
New duty station, new role, new team.
00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.360
The system moved you and the system caught you.
00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:00.800
Orders told you where to go, but structure told you how to land.
00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:07.919
So you experience constant change without ever needing to build your own internal machinery for navigating it.
00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:19.680
The machinery was external, and if you made a career out of military service, it's quite likely that you never acquired the skills, at least consciously, to map out your own path forward.
00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:23.680
But civilian life, nah, it hands you the change without the system.
00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.400
And that's the actual work of transition.
00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:32.960
Not finding the job, not picking the city, but building your own system for moving through change.
00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:37.120
And yes, it can be tiring, and yes, it can be frustrating.
00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:43.360
But the good news is that once you have that, every future transition gets more manageable.
00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.599
So what does that system look like?
00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:54.479
Well, it looks like knowing how to stabilize when the ground shifts, protecting your sleep, your routine, and the basics before making any big moves.
00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:02.479
It looks like knowing how to orient, taking honest inventory about where you actually are instead of where you plan to be.
00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:08.960
And it looks like knowing how to align, making your next moves match your current values, not your old ones.
00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:14.240
So stabilize, orient, align, then move.
00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:25.920
That sequence works for military separation, but it also works for divorce, job loss, relocation, loss of a friend, retirement, the emptiness.
00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.399
For every transition you haven't hit yet, but will in the future.
00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:37.360
And when you get to the point where you've created and adapted your own sequence of events, then you'll start seeing a shift.
00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:40.160
You stop asking, when will this be over?
00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:43.600
And start asking, what is this one teaching me?
00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:47.600
Because every transition you navigate makes you better at the next one.
00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:50.079
Skills compound and the fear shrinks.
00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:58.000
Not because the changes get smaller, they actually in a lot of cases get bigger, but because your capacity to handle them gets bigger.
00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:01.439
Think about people you know who seem steady no matter what happens.
00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:08.000
They are unshakable, always able to pivot or adapt without a lot of chaos or interruption.
00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:10.959
But they're not actually people who avoided change.
00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:15.439
They've just been through enough of it to trust themselves inside of the change.
00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:18.319
Their steadiness isn't luck, it's repetition.
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:27.519
So, if you're in the middle of a transition right now and it feels like it's taking too long, like you should be done by now, you need to let that expectation go.
00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:28.879
You're not behind.
00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:30.879
There is no true deadline.
00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.839
This isn't a test you pass and then move on from.
00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:39.279
This is a skill that you are building for the rest of your life, and it takes as long as it takes.
00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:48.639
And if you've been out for years and you feel the fog rolling in again with a new season or new questions or new uncertainties, that's not regression either.
00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:50.959
That's just the next transition arriving.
00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:56.000
And this time you have something you didn't have the first time: experience.
00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:00.240
So keep in mind the goal is not to finish transitioning.
00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:04.160
It's not a checklist and stop seeing it as a destination.
00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:15.120
The goal, the true goal, is to see life's changes as a part of the path and to become someone who can move through change without losing themselves inside of it.
00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:24.800
Leaving the military can feel chaotic, especially when you feel you should have a plan right away.
00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:28.160
But not knowing what's next doesn't mean you're failing.
00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:30.000
It means you're in transition.
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:46.560
At the Recon Network, we help veterans and military spouses navigate transition by focusing on stability, direction, and alignment before outcomes are expected, so you can map your future without rushing the wrong move or spending years building a life out of sync with your purpose.
00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:48.800
Don't rush your next step.
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.600
Navigate it with intention with Recon.
00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:56.480
Learn more about our programs and services at recon.vet.
