The Nature of Transitions—Dec. 22

SAGe (Self-Actualized Genius)—Learn More

December 22, 2024

Sunday SAGe Newsletter Volume 14: The Nature of Transitions

Happy Sunday!

Here is this week’s installment of Sunday SAGe, an email communication that shares wellness inspiration from The Wellness Ethic to help people thrive during the coming week (and beyond!).

This week’s focus is on the transitions that you experience in your life. Understanding how transitions work empowers you to persevere through the challenges that often accompany difficult changes.

The Nature of Transitions

An excerpt from The Wellness Ethic:

The best depiction of the transition process I’ve come across is contained within William Bridges’ classic book “Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes.” In the book, Bridges describes three natural stages of successful transitions: endings, the neutral zone, and new beginnings.

The first stage—endings—is characterized by letting go of your old self. As you progress through this stage, you can feel frustrated at times or be in denial. You can also be sad and angry and experience other negative emotions as you come to grips with changing a part of yourself. After all, you’re trying to let go of something familiar—it can be uncomfortable.

The next stage—the neutral zone—is an in-between stage where you go back and forth between your old self and the new you. You may be uncertain and impatient. Some days, you’re living the desired change, which can energize you. On other days, you may revert to your old self and feel discouraged. But you’ll soon find that the good days start to outnumber the not-so-good days, and you’ll feel the tide turning as you build momentum.

The last stage—new beginnings—has you firmly planted in your new world. You’ve adopted the change and effectively transitioned to the new you.

What It Means

Maintaining a positive mindset will be one of your keys to success as you adopt change. For the more difficult changes you undertake, transitioning from the “old you” to the “new you” can be an emotionally taxing process. But knowing that a transition is a process that’s expected to have ups and downs is liberating. It tells you that the obstacles and setbacks you experience when making a significant change are perfectly normal. They don’t represent failure. They represent a transition behaving like a transition. You can persevere.

Your Call to Action

Think about the meaningful transitions you have gone through, whether it was a breakup with a partner, moving to a new city, breaking a bad habit, becoming a parent, or something else that impacted you. Did you go through the three transition stages? In retrospect, what worked well with your approach to the transition, and what would you have handled differently now that you understand the nature of transitions? Leverage those insights moving forward.

And remember, people who are successful with transitions have one common trait: They DON’T GIVE UP!

Enjoy a safe and peaceful holiday season,