change and transition

CHANGE-an external event that signals something old has stopped and something new is starting (William Bridges)

TRANSITION-the experience of the gradual, psychological reorientation process that happens inside us as we respond and adapt to the external change. Transition often results from a change, but it may also be triggered by the news that the change is imminent, and so, start before the change actually takes place (William Bridges)

THERE ARE A FEW STAGES OF THE ADJUSTMENT CYCLE (of course not everyone goes through them they same, but this is a sample):

-pre-departure (often a very exciting time, anxious to get going)
-1-3 months (honeymoon period-some shorter, some longer)
- 3-6 months (Hate it!)
- 6-12 months (adjusting, not so bad)
-one year (a dip, but not as dramatic as before)

The TRANSITION Experience-a NORMAL process

Settled-where you are when God all of a sudden gets a hold on you-life is just
comfortable

Unsettling-you know God has called, it’s not always easy, it’s UNSETTLING. This is physical space, mental, emotional.

CHAOS!! The process of getting to where you are called, the period of time when you are not in either “world” anymore. Things are crazy and it’s hard to keep up, to see where you have been and where you are going

Resettling-you are starting to “feel the groove”, get into a routine

Settled-the world around you seems normal again; you are comfortable in your new environment

Does it mean you go through these five stages and all is well?? No, you are often jumping back and forth, especially between Unsettling, chaos, and resettling.

Conflict is good, means many things-conflict is not a bad word. It just means you disagree with how something is (handled, thought, etc). We don’t deal with it the same way, but at least we know how the other deals with conflict. We don’t deal with things the same as those around us.

One of the coping techniques for managing stress is social support; that is what this blog is partly for. When we are down and struggling, we can honestly paint a picture of how we are feeling. Within days encouragement comes in the form of felt prayers and encouraging emails.