Transition(making sense of life's changes )book - Essay Example

Due: Transition: Making sense of Lifes Changes Life is to a lot of changes. From the time a child is born to the time that death comes, assuming it results from natural causes such as old age, an individual is likely to encounter a number of changes. Transition phases often characterize the periods between the changes. Accordingly, events that take place during the transition phase often determine the beginning of the fresh period. The longer the transition period, the better the beginning will be because the agent facing the change will have tackled all issues involving the past and will be a position to take on new beginnings with vigor.

The book, “Transitions: Making sense of lifes changes” by William Bridges looks into how the transitions occur and gives a direction on how the changes can be handled adequately. As a consequence, this piece will seek to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the book. Additionally, it will examine how change can be handled by citing examples from personal accounts that were solved using the guidelines in the book. Foremost, the book examines the concept of transition. Being in transition is a situation that involves a state where an individual facing change is confused.

Consequently, this state is marred by unknown feelings about the future. When I was joining campus and started out on my own, the future was blurred. The thought of a promising career that hinged on my performance hit me hard. I was in a transition that would rewrite my life. Being in a transition requires an individual to have an open mind, to be willing to take risks and to have people around to motivate them and encourage them to move on with life. This stage requires strategies and a lot of patience and heightened levels of endurance.

The duration of the transition period is usually unpredictable. Luckily, I had the endurance, and now I have a clear view of my future. The transitions are worthwhile if the change being experienced is part of a desired end (Bridge 4). When such a shift is felt, the experience is not traumatizing since it was expected when the desired end was being evaluated. In the work life, transitions are inevitable. The transitions may refer to a demotion, a promotion, a change of career of even a change of a boss or the supervisor (Bridge 79).

People may have studied the same courses in school and have the same type of job, but their approach may be very different to similar situations or issues. The good thing with work transitions is that there are people willing to help with the transition. When my dad was promoted to a new position, he had to get along with a chaotic boss. Luckily for him, his colleagues gave him tips on how to handle the boss that he used and finally got along with her. The helpful members helped him transition peacefully and successfully.

Unfortunately though, there is bound to be a few cases where the transition is not that enjoyable. The book suggests that in such situations, a little patience goes a long way. A case in point could be where an employee faces demotion. This involves a lot of emotional breakdowns since it slows down the career trajectory an employee had planned. When in such transition, it is better for such an individual to look for another job where they will start a new and try and forget what the former employer did.

Bridge goes further to describe the change process. It involves three stages; endings, neutral zones and beginnings. The endings stage refers to that stage that occurs after the change (Bridge 109). It is the immediate change. According to Bridge, this stage is the stage of loss, where it is first experienced. When a loss first hits an individual, they often deny that the loss has been suffered. The stage is also filled with anger that results from not accepting that a loss has been experienced.

Since change requires one to leave behind what they have and pick up something new, it becomes hard moving forward. Emotions usually run high at this stage. To solve and overcome this stage, the book recommended the following; to identify the losses by different people. When this is done, it is easier to assist someone overcome a change or a loss. Next is accepting that a change has occurred; the reality. This may take a while given the human nature and the denial phase we subject ourselves. There is also overreaction experienced when people are in a transition period.

The overreaction manifests because of the losses the people experience as they undergo the transition period. Therefore, acknowledging the losses openly, grieving for the loss, compensating for the incurred losses and marking the endings will go a long way towards easing the transition period. The second stage of the transition period, as described in the book, is the neutral zone. This zone is very chaotic (Bridge 136). The ending period that required the individual to accept the fact that change has come.

The chaos result from not being sure of the future since the venture is new and risks abound along the way. When I lost my sister, I could not fight the thought that she was no longer with us. Her death was unexpected and so letting go was hard. In this stage an individual is at their best, because of the trial and error approach brought about by the chaos; death. New things are tried during this time as there is room for creativity and trying to avoid confusion caused by the uncertainties. Exploration is at its best at this stage.

The solutions Bridges came up with solutions on how to go about this stage assisted me overcome the sorrow. The stages are; acting in a normal way by showing others that is not weird to be confused at some point when in transition, avoiding negative thinking about the future because of the changes being encountered and the uncertainties about the future, strengthening the interaction and connections with people in your group and using this time to explore and become creative and innovative. When the creative being is activated at this stage, the caution that brings hesitation is avoided leaving the individual to explore and become successful.

I had to explore different ways of letting go and, fortunately, I did. The final stage is the beginnings stage. It is a stage that comes as a result of accepting to let go of the old ways and trying to embrace as much as possible the change and challenges that come with it (Bridge 162). After undergoing the neutral force where a lot of experimenting and exploration was observed, it is now time to relax and build on the change, the past is gone and the present is fully accepted. This stage was daunting for me.

How to begin doing things on my own and trying to double up by taking the position of my sister was challenging. This stage cannot be forced on anyone, but once accepted, can be supported immensely be the change agents. I had friends and relatives who pushed me through and were there for me when I needed a shoulder to lean on. Bridge recommends that at this stage, the following be followed: the people bringing the change should explain clearly the purpose of the change. Life is so unpredictable and there living a life full of happiness was the objective.

When the objective is known, the ones undergoing the change will understand and accept the logic behind the change. The next thing is to allow a picture of the outcome to be created in the mind. This imaginative interaction is important for the outcome to stick in the mind. Then phasing the outcome will make the end product more visible while consistency will make success a reality. The breaking down of the outcome will enable success to be realized by having small goals being attained. Finally, the outcome when, realized, should be celebrated.

I happen to have followed a good percentage of her recommendation. The outcome was a celebration of a soul that had been revived after being down for a while. In conclusion, change and the transition that comes with it cannot be embraced with ease. A number of activities have to be undergone before change and transition sink in. These are the endings, neutral zone, and the beginnings. Once the stages have been successfully passed, the outcome will be achieved, and future changes will be accepted easily.

References Bridges, William. Transitions: Making Sense of Lifes Changes. Cambridge, Mass: Da Capo Press, 2004.Print.