Transitions and change seem to be the centerpiece of my conversations these days. Friends and clients taking buy out packages, clients deciding to follow a new path out of lucrative profession and into the unknown, a colleague shuttering an office and changing direction slightly to make it through lean times, a friend deciding that the organization couldn't afford her anymore and coming to the only logical conclusion she could come to–laying herself off.
Any of this sound familiar?
Photo by apesara
In response, I've been pointing people to two excellent sources:
Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes by William Bridges. A nice summary of the three phases of transition (Endings, Neutral Zone, New Beginnings) is provided by a blogger/coach in India (hey, why reinvent the wheel when you have the Internet?) The main point? Change is an event. Transition is a process, one that all human beings need to go through to integrate change successfully into their lives.
Photo by DerrickT
- Honorable Closure, a concept developed by Angeles Arrien. Again, a summary is provided by a third party. I've used the following questions, based on Arrien's work, as honorable closure for many of the endings in my life:
- What have I most appreciated about this experience/time?
- What have I learned from this experience/time?
- What unfinished business do I have–something I wish I had done but didn't get to?
- Are there areas where I want to practice forgiveness? Do I want to forgive myself for something or ask for forgiveness from someone?
- Are there relationships I want to bring forward with me? What do they look like?
- How do I want to mark this important ending?
What changes are you adapting to and how are you managing the transition?
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