Agnes Mura and William Bergquist
FIRST
Our world is now in a state of flux. Over the next few months many of us will be changing the way in which we live our lives — or at least relate to other people and find a new way to be at work.
The important transitions that are required will inevitably produce stress and anxiety. In the following three videocasts, we describe something about the nature of transitions (using the model of transitions offered by William Bridges) and identify ways in which we can best handle the changes we must make.
Videocast One: On the Savannah and Out to Sea
We have pushed off from the shore (we’re being forced to make an “ending”) and are sitting in a boat that is surrounded by the fog of uncertainty. We are in the “neutral zone” and must identify what to do while seeking to navigate somehow to another shore (the “new beginning”). Living in the midst of this transition.
The first videocast recalls ancient humans’ natural response, when living on the African savannah, to a threatening entity (such as the lion… or a virus) and the ways in which we confront and manage this sort of threat over several transitional phases. Imagine casting off from the land and shore that we know very well (the “ ending”) and being now in a boat looking for a different shore and different land (the “new beginning”). What is this experience like?
Videocast Two: On the Boat
We have pushed off from the shore (we’re being forced to make an “ending”) and are sitting in a boat that is surrounded by the fog of uncertainty. We are in the “neutral zone” and must identify what to do while seeking to navigate somehow to another shore (the “new beginning”). Living in the midst of this transition.
Videocast Three: Self-Care on the Sea
This third videocast focuses on ways we can take care of ourselves during the transition—so that we can then take better care of other people whom we love and with whom we work.
We hope you find these three brief videocasts to be of value in helping you identify the challenges you are facing in your own transition and helping you plan for your own self-care during this transition.
Offering a Free On Line Workshop About Managing the Transition
We have much more to say about the management of transitions from end to beginning in a series of three free workshops that are being offered on-line. We describe four different ways in which to manage the transition that are aligned with one’s own personality and interpersonal style preferences.
Additionally, we help participants identify the best ways in which to engage in crucial conversations with family, friends and colleagues while engaged in the transition and upon landing on the new shore.
A description of the workshop series and signing-up instructions are provided on the document that can be accessed by clicking on the Download button below.