Transitions By William Bridges

729 Words2 Pages

“Endings” Throughout life, we are faced with endings that are challenging to accept, and those challenges can also create undesirable occurrences that are inevitable. While most transitions are uncomfortable, the process of accepting a new journey is essential for personal growth. Ending a comfortable way of life and enter into an unknown territory may be a freighting experience which can force an individual to stay in their comfort zone. Why do new experiences make an individual feel lost or undecided about a direction in life to turn to? In the groundbreaking book of Transitions: Making sense of life’s changes, author William Bridges, guides his readers through three stages of change, which include, the endings, the neutral zone, and new …show more content…

According to Bridges, transitions start with an ending, however, it the ending that starts with a beginning. Part of the beginning and ending process is an important part of the cycle in which barriers have to end in order for the new experience to begin. Additionally, the key to a successful transition is to overcome uncomfortable obstacles that are often daunting by embracing the trials and tribulations that stand in the way of moving forward through the transition process. Nevertheless, the five essential elements that are important to be able to move forward to the next chapter are disengagement, dismantling, disidentification, disenchantment, and disorientation. Bridges categorize “endings”, as “five aspects of the natural ending experience” (Bridges, 2004, p. 2). Through the natural ending experiences, my early college journey was filled with confusion, self-doubt, which resulted in me resisting to change. As a result, I’ve identified with the feeling of disorientation. For example, disorientation aligns with my transition from dropping out of college, advancing within my career without a college, and having a second chance to obtain my bachelor's degree, which is now the start of a new …show more content…

12). Similarly, to my past, I transitioned from a teenager into adulthood. Not only was the transition process unfamiliar, my life as an adult became confusing and at times filled with emptiness. The customary changes of being a freshman created transitional issues of feeling out of place, invisible, which suddenly lead me to have concerns with taking care of myself without the help of my parents. Bridges, suggest “things that used to be important don't seem to matter much now” (Bridges, 2004, p. 12). While the freshman environment was overwhelming, I become discouraged and decided to rethink college and revisit the issue later in life. Once I left City College, surprisingly, I was introduced to an internship program at Salesforce.com. After several interviews, I was accepted into the program as a Jr. Program Coordinator. It was at that moment, that I knew this opportunity was the beginning of a life-changing journey. Salesforce.com was the stepping for me into the corporate world and I quickly learned how critical it was to develop the skills, experience, and support that empowers me to reach my fullest potential, academically and professionally. However, as the economy continues to change employers are looking for highly qualified applicants that have degrees in higher education.

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