Transitions

The "transitions" theory by William Bridges is a simple tool I find very useful when dealing with change - not by choice. If you chose to change something in your life, you feel like you are in the driver seat. You made the choice, you have your future mapped out and you are excited.
On the other hand, when change is imposed on you, you feel ...down. Like being dumped, evacuated from your home, losing your job, something that at first sight worsens you overall well-being. So the first stage there is about ending, losing, letting go. About feeling locked in, angry, not feeling in control at all. After looking at the situation for some time and spending some time "down", most of us go into a neutral zone of not having any strong feelings, of "floating". You stop looking back with so much passion, but are not ready yet to look forward to the exciting new opportunities awaiting you. Until one day you wake up, and you feel like you have a plan. You will meet your friends again and talk about your situation, you'll open up to input from the outside. You'll map out the next steps and start building your future. Ultimately, you'll feel again like you're in charge.
The good news is that in the end we are all happy about the change. Only in the non self-induced change we go through a "down" period. And this is not necessarily bad, since it's nice to retreat and reflect a bit when coming to crossroads. The only way out is through :-)