It’s well known that our satisfaction is directly proportional to our expectations.
I was recently reading Bruce Feiler’s Life is in the Transitions in preparation for book club this week (People asked for a focus on navigating transitions. You should come!) and experienced a helpful reset of expectations courtesy of his research into 225 American life stories.
Continue reading “Transition-by-numbers”As I wrap up our quick three-part series on William Bridges’ Managing Transitions, we’ve made it through the ending and the neutral zone and now find ourselves launching a new beginning.
Two insights popped off the page for me in this section of his book:
Continue reading “Underripe”Let’s talk about the time in between.
William Bridges refers to it as “the neutral zone.” But it’s more like putting a car in Neutral than something we feel neutral about.
Futurist Marilyn Ferguson has referred to this time as like being “between trapezes,” with nothing to hold onto. Emotionally, that seems about right. I’ve written about it before, as the “hell of the hallway.” We’re in suspended animation for a time. But how long?
Continue reading “In Between”It’s the tail end of summer where I live. Last week, I was on a quick road trip in the US, where school starts a bit earlier than in most parts of Canada. We saw lots of families eating breakfast in our hotels who were clearly travelling to drop almost-grown kids off at college — jam packed minivans, stressed students and sad parents trying to hold it together, and occasionally younger siblings watching with a mix of envy and eye rolling.
Continue reading “A Season of Bird Launching “Are you in a tough situation or season right now? Lots of people I know are, as they navigate job disappointments, caregiving responsibilities, health challenges, relationship changes, financial pressures…it’s a lot.
And it has me thinking about the importance of balancing agency with acceptance.
Continue reading “Agency and Acceptance”
