Ever felt the ground shift beneath your feet during a pivotal life transition? Ever tried to find your compass while tossed around in the tumultuous seas of career reinvention? These moments, which Bruce Feiler refers to as 'life quakes' in his book "Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age," can last up to five years and can drastically alter the course of our lives. 

As the concept of and career reinvention becomes increasingly popular, we'll discuss the importance of gathering a diverse range of life stories and experiences as you’re Creating Your Encore Career.

The Changing Nature of Life Transitions 

• Adult life used to be four or five decades with a shorter period of retirement. Nowadays, adult life can span up to seven or eight decades, significantly longer than before. This means there will be more transitions in life than in the past.

• Life is often non-linear. Previously, life followed a linear path of school, work, and retirement. Now, people don't work for the same company for 20 or 40 years, making life less linear. Bruce Feiler proposes calling this new reality non-linear.

Navigating Life Quakes and Transitions

• Bruce Feiler's research shows that people may experience three to five life quakes throughout their lifetime, which can last from four to five years. Even after the event is over, such as recovering from a pandemic or a recession, it can still impact a person's mindset and way of thinking for years to come

• Life quakes can include losing a job and struggling to find a new one, which requires patience during the transition process

• Feiler's book discusses three stages of transition: leaving, the long goodbye, the messy middle, and the new beginning. The long goodbye stage can involve grieving the loss of something, like a job or a loved one

• Each person has a unique experience with transitioning and may be better at different stages of the process

Seven Tools for Navigating Transitions

• Accept it – acknowledge that it has happened.

• Mark it – reflect on it and take time to process it.

• Shed the old habits that were part of the previous life – difficult but necessary for moving forward.

• Create something new – this involves learning and practicing new skills.

• Share it with a community to help make it easier.

• Launch the new phase – put the new skills into practice.

• Tell others about the transition – to help them understand who you are now compared to who you were before.

The path to transition and reinvention isn't always strewn with roses, but we've got a treasure trove of resources to help you embark on this exciting journey. So let's navigate these life transitions with renewed ease and confidence, irrespective of where you are in life.