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We’re living in an era of constant change – which means transition isn’t just something that happens to us occasionally, it’s a part of daily reality. That’s exactly why it’s so important we get to know transition: how it works, what it asks of us, and how to move through it with wisdom rather than resistance.
Why Transition is Crucial and Necessary
Change is an event but a transition is the process that you go through in response to the change. ~ William Bridges, author, speaker, preeminent authority on change and transition
Think about the last time you experienced a major life change – a new job, moving homes, or ending a relationship. Remember that in-between feeling? You weren’t quite who you used to be, but you weren’t yet who you were becoming either. That space you were in has a name: transition. And it’s a natural component of change that we should get to know because it actually helps us prepare and adapt to change.
Most of us rarely think about transition in such a deliberate way and why would we? We’ve been conditioned to focus on change as the end state: the goals and outcomes, where we’ve been and where we’re going. And we rarely talk about the journey in the middle – the process of moving from one state to another which is exactly what transition is. Because of this, we miss the tremendous wisdom that lives in the in-between.
Picture this (left side, above). Imagine if we lived in a world without transition and the human growth cycle operated in such a world. In this reality, there would be no in-between, no transition, no bridge to the next stage. So a person would be born and shoot straight through every stage of growth immediately, say like in a few days. From baby to toddler to preteen to teenager to adult – every stage is now, every version grows at breakneck speed, jumbled together, with no space to breathe or adjust. What’s the first word that comes to mind in such a process? Overwhelming, right? Almost violent. Chaotic? Disorienting? Imagine dealing with super-charged body changes while your mind races to catch up, emotions and hormones on overdrive trying to match each phase, responsibilities piling on before you’re ready – all at once. Growing up is already challenging enough; this would make it 100x worse!
Thankfully, our human growth cycle has a natural, built-in sequence of gradual transitions. Our current reality includes natural bridges between each major growth stage, providing space to breathe, grow, and gradually adjust in preparation for what’s next and those bridges is what we call the transitional space.
The Transitional Space – A Place for Preparation and Protection
Without a transition, a change is just a rearrangement of the furniture. Unless transition happens, the change won’t work, because it doesn’t ‘take.’ ~ William Bridges
And this is why transition is so incredibly important. Those in-between periods aren’t just helpful – they’re absolutely crucial. Without this space of incremental transition and growth, we would experience each change big or small, abruptly and chaotically, with no time to adapt emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. We’d end up overwhelmed and unprepared, trying to handle complex changes without having first developed the capacity to manage them. Massively complicating our journey before we’ve even gotten started!
This is where the wisdom of transition shows itself. Transition creates a deliberate space for preparation and protection – like a buffer zone where we can gradually release what no longer serves us and make room for what’s coming. Without this space, we’d be thrown from one life stage to the next with no time to process, adjust, or grow.
Imagine graduating from high school, moving away from home, starting a new job, getting married, or retiring with no buffer zone, no space for adjustment. Or imagine jumping from being single to married in one day – the shock of a lifetime! This is why along with space, time is also a critical component of transition.
The Space of Time – When the Old and New Coexist
Before people can begin something new, they have to end what used to be and unlearn the old way. ~ William Bridges
Picture our example again (below right). In our current reality, the human growth cycle does in fact exist function within a framework of transition. As our baby moves from babyhood to adulthood, she’s naturally provided an in-between space where she can let go of her old versions and bring in the new one. And she does this organically over time as her body changes, her mental capacity expands, her emotions deepen, her social world grows. These are major shifts, and it takes years to complete this growth process, over 18 years to pass through them all.
Time is the critical component in this process that gives us the months or years needed to work through transition’s major purpose: letting go of the old and preparing to welcome the new. And this is where change becomes deeply emotional…
We all know how hard it is to let go as we move from one state to another. As a parent, it’s hard to see that cute, exuberant little baby lose her baby looks and mannerisms as she moves into toddlerhood and eventually adulthood. It’s hard to say goodbye to your family as you head out to college or get married. It’s hard to give up the car or job you’ve had for years. But we must, because we need change and we need to grow. And to do that, we need to let go. And as we all know, it takes time to let go. It takes time to make peace and accept what we need to let go of. It takes time to decide what we want to keep from the old. And it takes time to decide what the new will look like.
Which is why transition is often so messy and so emotional. We are human, and we naturally get attached and bonded to what we love and what becomes part of our experience. When we need to release what we know so that we can move into new chapters, it’s naturally highly challenging. And that’s something we should acknowledge up front.
Transition is the hardest of all the change cycles (Transition, Transformation, Evolution) exactly because of this. You’re carrying both the energies of the old version and the energies of the new version all at once. In that middle space, as you grieve what you need to let go of AND make space for something new, you’re navigating a complex interplay of powerful emotions and feelings that deserve your grace, compassion and patience to manage.
This is where time becomes your dearest friend. Time becomes the steady, loyal friend that holds your hand and keeps you moving consistently forward, without judgment toward what’s next – whatever that may be. For however long you need and no matter how long it takes.
The Gift of Transition
…it is when we are in transition that we are most completely alive. ~ William Bridges
The powerful wisdom (and gift) of transition is in what it provides – the space and time to shift, to let go, to grow, adapt, and yes – to grieve. It’s not just helpful; it’s essential, it’s crucial and it’s vital to our well-being.
We know change is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to overwhelm us or break us. When we understand transition’s value, we can navigate change with greater intention, more grace and less heartache. In this series, we’ll learn how to use transition to help us navigate this great time of change upon us with purpose and heart – both individually and collectively.
In our next post, we’ll explore the art of letting go – and discover the powerful clarity it brings when we stop fighting the current of change and learn to flow with it instead.
~Carmen ♥
