September 2024 – Navigating Change and Transition

As long as I can remember I’ve associated Fall with a season of change. Perhaps it had to do with going ‘back to school’ and all that goes along with it. I moved six times before I graduated high school. That was a lot of practice making new friends, while on the contrary, I became very familiar with the feelings of loss incorporated with the changes. Whether change comes about in your personal life or career, the challenges can be greater when the change happens unexpectedly or against your will. Regardless, the basic approach to working through a life transition is the same and a professional life coach can make a great partner for people who have a desire to navigate and successfully move through a season of change and transition. Let’s explore insights and resources we can rely upon to help with a smooth transition.

Change is situational in nature. Not all change is positive or welcomed, yet without change growth is impossible. Proactive change elicits a desire to take new approaches, to seek something new in self, or others. People often resist change because they think about what they have to give up over what will be gained. Without proactive support most people would choose to go back to old ways even if the new way is better, because it’s comfortable and familiar.

Transition can be viewed as a three-stage internal or psychological process requiring one to adapt to a change in their external environment. Internal adaptations such as letting go of an old reality, old way of seeing things, a passing from one condition, stage of life, activity, or a move from one place to another. Transition begins with an ending and finishes with a beginning.

The middle phase is referred to as the “neutral zone” where the old is gone but the new isn’t fully operational. In this phase, critical psychological realignments and repatterining take place. In a sense, your old outlook, attitudes, values, self-images and ways of thinking have to “die” before people can be ready for life in the present. During this phase people’s anxiety rises and their motivation falls. It’s natural for people to feel overwhelmed, confused, and uncertain about their future. This internal, psychological journey can take months, even years, depending on the nature of the change.

The third phase is the “new beginning” where people develop a new identity, experience new energy, and discover new purpose that allows the change to begin. People may want the change yet fear it at the same time. The change requires new commitment, a plan, and an action to be accountable for in order to move the transition forward. To successfully navigate this phase requires positive and consistent messages about the new beginning while not rushing it. The transition won’t be complete until all three phases/processes have taken place.