In recent research, called the Life Story Project, physicist Brian Wecht made some interesting discoveries about the transitions people experience. Whether someone exits the military, loses a job, moves to another town, discovers they have a neurological disease, or learns they have been betrayed by a best friend – they have all experienced transitions. That is not new information.
The days of having one job or living in one location for a lifetime are extremely rare. We move and change at a much quicker pace, which can be overwhelming. Brian discovered that most of us will experience three dozen disruptors in our lives – one about every 12 to 18 months. Now most of these will be minor stressors, but one out of ten, or three to five in our adult lives, will become what he calls, major “lifequakes” that can knock us back on our heels.
Some of these periods of transition can last as long as five years. So, the question isn’t whether or not we will experience challenging transitions as much as it is how will we handle the journey when we do?
Since we can’t ignore these transitory periods in our lives (or at least it wouldn’t be wise to), I want to suggest, from this research project, five actions that we can take when faced with major transitions.
- Accept them
- Name them
- Mark them
- Share them
- Integrate them into reshaping our life story
It is not my intention to give a simplistic answer her. But instead, in this brief space, to simply challenge you to contemplate ways these actions might help you to embrace transitions in a more constructive manner. I would love to know of other things that you have found helpful in your quest to make transitions smoother.