written by
Flavian DeLima

Life and Career: Transitions Matter

Career Path 1 min read , September 23, 2020
Photo by Joe Beck

By Flavian DeLima

It’s normal to feel uncomfortable when a trigger event happens. Some triggers feel good while others not so much.  Some are by choice and others not. A positive trigger event might be graduating from university or getting married. But for others, it could be a negative event. It depends on the person you ask. I’ve met people who feel terrible after they lose their job. I talk to them six months later and they tell me how great they feel. They say stuff like

“Losing my job was the best thing that ever happened to me…”

William Bridges is one of the first people I discovered, who wrote about transitions in 1980. He talks about three zones. The first is “The Ending”. The second is the “Neutral Zone” and the third is “The Beginning”. When something ends, the hard part is not knowing how long we’ll be in the neutral zone because it feels uncomfortable, especially early on. Getting to the other side and a new beginning feels awesome. The next time, you’re in the neutral zone, breath, and realize you are not alone. It helps to know that the journey can sometimes be as rewarding as the destination.

Source: Transitions: making sense of life's changes (1980) from William Bridges


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