MANAGING TRANSITION

I learned a valuable truth from Dr. Max Raines who was my teacher over 40 years ago.

He said that life was nothing but a series of transitions.  The transitions come from all directions.

Sometimes you choose them.  Sometimes the transitions choose you.

Max’s idea was that if one could get in one’s head that transitions were constant, that you could develop skill at navigating one.  He reasoned if one was skilled at transition, one could get from one place to the next without the stress of the transition wearing one down.

43 years ago, no one could imagine the changes that would occur in the future.  We had one computer on the whole campus.  That computer took hours to run programs that take a second today.

Ask someone what it was like in 1978 as compared to how things happen today.  You’ll be amazed at the contrast.

Unmanaged transitions tear down and destroy.  Unmanaged transitions create anxiety and fear. Unmanaged transitions don’t achieve the best results.

Managed transitions include the following:

• Uniform commitment – You acknowledge a transition is upon you and you resolve to embrace it.
• Fresh resources – You team up with others and rely on each other to help the trip.
• Flexibility – You stay on the balls of your feet with your head on a swivel because there will be things thrown in you didn’t expect.  You must be alert and take on the unexpected.
• Intentional – You work the transition every day.  It’s a priority. You test. Experiment. Learn. Plan. And do it all over again.
• Transform – If you do transition right, you get better.  You gain knowledge.  Develop skill.  Improve your capacity.  You transform because you transitioned.  You’re different as a result.

Then, you regroup and begin again.  Another transition is sure to be headed your way.