UNDERSTANDING CHANGE, IMPACT, AND TRANSITION

With transitions every 12 to 18 months, what can we learn and do to better adapt?

Death and taxes are often said to be the only constants in life. But let’s not forget about “change”. We encounter change all the time – at work, at home, and everywhere else we hang our hats.  

Bruce Feiler tells us that these changes lead to transitions every 12 to 18 months for most of us. If you live to be 90, that’s about 60 to 90 transitions in your lifetime. Wow! Feeling overwhelmed? You are not alone. Better understanding three interrelated components can help us and others navigate these transitions more comfortably and confidently.

Change and transition are not the same. Change is an external event or situation that impacts us. For example, it is late June, so school-aged children and their parents are experiencing a transition. The change is the end of the school year, and the impact is the start of summer living. Transition is the journey parents and kids take to grow and move beyond the change and its impact. True, this change occurs annually but the impact and resulting transition may vary from year to year.

Take heart, not all change is the same. Whether personal or professional, large or small, easy or tough, change affects us in unexpected ways and to varying degrees. And change can be a powerful force – sparking new ideas, energy, personal growth and ways of life. However, initially, it might trip us up, slow us down, or stop us – even if we knew it was coming and even if we initiated it ourselves.  

Are you currently in a transition? How do you know? What was the initial change and how it impacting you?

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