On May 17, 2022, Adoptions From The Heart held a Birthparent Workshop hosted by Life Coach Jenn Oglesbee called “Understanding the Cycles of Change”
The Cycle of Change
Jenn Oglesbee, Certified Life, and LCSW gave a powerful presentation that discussed the 4 stages of Changes in Life and how we grow and evolve through each chapter of our lives. We learned that The Cycle of Change is a revolving thing. It is not just a linear thing that happens but has more of a spiral effect.
In the first square, we are experiencing “Death and Rebirth”. Here we need to remember these important moves; take things one day at a time, care for yourself, practice acceptance and patience, and let yourself grieve and feel your feelings. Moving on to the second square we are now at “Dreaming and Scheming”. In this square, we learn that life has no rules, and that’s okay. We just need to let ourselves daydream, write down our dreams and plans, dream big because there are no rules, and create a vision board. In square three, we learn about the “Hero’s Saga and Taking Action”. This is where we learn that life is much harder than we thought it would be and that’s okay also. We just have to expect things to go wrong and be willing to start over if it comes to it. The last square is all about “The Promised Land” and this centers around how everything is changing. How do we need to enjoy and focus on gratitude while making small improvements within ourselves? If we can do this, then we can expect to make other changes and trust ourselves to handle it.
Using the Change Cycle as a foundation
Now that we know all about the Cycle and how to use it, we can apply it to our everyday lives and the problems that we may face. Some topics that came up in the Workshop were placing a child for adoption and how you move forward after, experiencing a family loss while going through the grieving process; working through those feelings, overcoming drug addiction, and becoming a new person. Jenn Oglesbee helped our Birthmothers work through their problems using The Change Cycle and we saw positive results!
Quotes From Attendees
“This workshop Understanding the Cycles of Change was informative, but in a way, that’s easy to understand and relatable. Life can get scrambled, and that is okay! Makes me feel motivated to start on what’s next. I look forward to more of these, I liked her as a speaker,” Birthmother, Samantha.
“This class showed me how much I have changed, and the changes I am still working on in my life. It just taught me a lot about myself. It makes me feel like I can achieve anything and showed me how strong of a person I truly am,” Expecting Mother, Caitlin.
“Thank You…this class made me think way more than I expected. I am also pretty excited to make a vision board now, whereas before making a board or list felt like grasping at the air to find some hope… now I feel like I have a starting point. This workshop was my favorite by far,” birthmother, Asia.
“Just like I thought, this workshop was so amazing!! It was informative and motivating. Especially because it synced up so well with my personal life,” birthmother, Lakeisha.
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much Jenn Oglesbee for dedicating your time and speaking to our Birthmothers. We all learned so much about The Change Cycle and how to overcome any problems we may be having. Learn more about Jenn Oglesbee at her website linked below!
Also, thank you to our Birthmothers who came out and supported the Workshop. None of this would be possible without you! If you missed this workshop but want to come to the next one, make sure you check out our events page on our website linked below.
