Managing Transitions

By Katie B. Smith, Executive and Career Coach, People Biz, Inc.

”Not in his goals but in his transitions man is great”.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

With the change of seasons and the holidays around the corner, I invite you to ponder the transitions in your life.  As humans, we are always in a state of transition.  All transitions are composed of letting go of an old situation or ending, feeling the confusing in-between of a neutral zone, and launching forth again in a new beginning.

Transitions are a natural part of the human growth and development process, as natural as the change in seasons. Each lifetime has its own rhythm and there are many ways to transition.  Are you developing ways to deal with the transitions in your life productively?

Endings can make some of us fearful.  They break the comfortable patterns we have grown accustomed to.  But we can use endings as a time to acknowledge what we have learned and how we have grown.

Then we come to the neutral zone.  This is when we experience the “emptiness” of where we are.  We can view this time as tilling the soil of our life, planting seeds, and waiting on the will of heaven to respond.  We may feel confused and unsure of what direction to take.  Yet, this is a powerful time.  For in the silence and emptiness new ideas sprout, new people emerge in our lives and we have an opportunity to learn how to open, listen, and simply be in the silence.

Then there is the beginning, where we can launch ourselves anew and feel strong in the direction we are moving.  And yet, we can’t experience the new beginning without the ending and neutral zone, as they prepare us for the new.

Some thoughts to consider in managing transitions are:

• Create specific time in your week for contemplation and silence
• Begin to write out what the change will create for you in your life
• Put your attention on what is working as you move through managing your transition

What will keep you stable through the transitions and seasons in your life?  What can you acknowledge about your growth?  Try to allow yourself to be enveloped in the silence of the now and feel the excitement of the new.

For more information on the stages of transition visit William Bridges transition model.

People Biz Inc. is a coaching and training organization that provides customized programs for both professional and personal growth. Coaching such as life, career and executive coaching and training such as Leadership training, sales training and emotional intelligence. We have courses available to individuals such as online classes, webinars and public seminars and customize total solutions for organizations, teams and groups.