What's the change? How's the transition?

I am a language nerd. I love the jolt of finding the right words to describe something - a feeling, a thought, a desire, a place. Once I have a word, I have something to hang onto as I continue to puzzle out how the newly described phenomenon is impacting me. I see a similar spark in some of my clients when they are able to name what is happening for them, or have new words for something that a previous label didn't fully articulate for them. Language can be a powerful tool.

I have the joy of weekly conversations with my some of my colleagues (turned dear friends) from my coach training program. In today's meetup, one of our group presented her summary of a change model that spoke to her: the Bridges Transition Model. In our conversation, we talked about the core concepts and how this model could benefit us and our clients.

The jolt happened for me when we talked about the nuanced difference between a change and a transition described by the model:

• Change is the external event or situation that takes place" whereas

• Transition is the inner psychological process that people go through as they internalize and come to terms with the new situation that the change brings about.

The ah-ha for me was having words to differentiate what happened (the situation) from what's happening within me (the impact and processing of the situation). While this particular model seems to focus on organizational change and the transition employees go through, I can see myself using these words more broadly. I can talk about the change of a loved one's upcoming surgery and caregiving, and the transition that's bringing about nervousness, relief, stress, and empathy. I can recognize the process of moving through this transition and encountering emotions and milestones along the way. And then I can eventually recognize when I have come through the transition and integrated the impacts.

The nuanced difference between the words change and transition gives me warm-fuzzies. (I told you off the top: I'm a language nerd!) And it gives me a new tool to help clients tease apart the nuances for themselves. When a client is talking about a life event - a new role, going on parental leave, a new team - we can discuss the transition as they adapt to their new circumstance. We can talk about where they are in their transition, and what supports or strategies they need as they move along this change curve.

What changes are happening in your life? What is the transition you're going through as a result? What impact would having words to describe your current state and your trajectory have on your wellbeing and resilience during the transition? All of these are questions we can discuss in coaching. Language nerdiness is not a prerequisite, but is always welcome!