William Bridges Quotes & Sayings

Nothing so undermines organizational change as the failure to think through the losses people face. — William Bridges

Before people can begin something new, they have to end what used to be and unlearn the old way. — William Bridges

Faith is the soul's adventure. — William Bridges

Transition is the natural process of disorientation and reorientation that marks the turning points in the path of growth ... transitions are key times in the natural process of self-renewal — William Bridges

The transition's of life's second half offer a special kind of opportunity to break with the social conditioning and do something really new and different. — William Bridges

Author says change emphasizes what is happening TO us while transition emphasizes opportunity for growth within. — William Bridges

We resist transition not because we can't accept the change, but because we can't accept letting go of that piece of ourselves that we have to give up when and because the situation has changed. — William Bridges

Treating ourselves like appliances that can be unplugged and plugged in again at will or cars that stop and start with the twist of a key, we have forgotten the importance of fallow time and winter and rests in music. We have abandoned a whole system of dealing with the neutral zone through ritual, and we have tried to deal with personal change as though it were a matter of some kind of readjustment. — William Bridges

All transitions are composed of an ending, a neutral zone and a new beginning — William Bridges

Change is situational. Transition, on the other hand, is psychological. It is not those events, but rather the inner reorientation or self-redefinition that you have to go through in order to incorporate any of those changes into your life. Without a transition, a change is just a rearrangement of the furniture. Unless transition happens, the change won't work, because it doesn't 'take'. — William Bridges

Change comes more from managing the journey than from announcing the destination — William Bridges

It isn't the changes that do you in, it's the transitions. Change is not the same as transition. Change is situational: the new site, the new boss, the new team roles, the new policy. Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation. Change is external, transition is internal — William Bridges

Change is an event but a transition is the process that you go through in response to the change. — William Bridges

It is when we are in transition that we are most completely alive. — William Bridges