Every transition begins with an ending. We have to let go of the old thing before we can pick up the new one – not just outwardly, inwardly.
~ William Bridges
Throughout life, we will journey through many transitions: endings, beginnings and the places in-between. Career transition is a time when we can take the time to reflect and review who we are, what we have experienced, what is important to us moving forward. The author and consultant,William Bridges, spent a professional lifetime researching and describing the process of transition. He describes the place in-between the endings and beginnings as the “neutral zone.”
The neutral zone can be an uncomfortable, uncertain time in the transition process; it can also be a period of deepening insight and personal transformation.
As with any life change, career transition can be exciting, nerve wracking, confusing, filled with feelings of doubt and anxiety, anticipation and hope.
Understanding the process of transition, and mapping our movement along the way, can help us normalize the inevitable cycles of change that will happen throughout our life and work, and to maximize the opportunities that change offers us.
One of the best guides for life-work transition, is the book: Transitions – Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges. I recommend this book at all my workshops and to clients who may be going through multiple transitions, including career change.