Life in Transition

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Life in transition

It is obvious to all of us that the world is living through a massive type of discontinuity. Disequilibrium. Disruption. You can call it whatever you like, but we are all somewhat mourning the loss of our predictable future. Where did it go?

I have, for almost exactly 30 years, subscribed to the notion that we are living through a profound shift in paradigm. I refer to the nature of this transition as the “end of the hunting season in human existence”. The reason it’s profound is that for as long as there have been humans on the planet, the sources of strength wealth, and power —the stuff we all want —have been hunted for. It has been dependent on land, borders, and materials.

But this is no longer the case. The new sources of wealth, strength, and power are immaterial. These new success factors depend on our human ingenuity—our lust, our creativity, and our ability to collaborate and communicate.

And herein lies the real problem. The institutions surrounding and governing our lives were designed for a material world. And most of the people in power rose to that position of power by mastering the old game. And, as Upton Sinclair warned us, ”It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it.”

So, we are playing a new game with old rules. And as Churchill also so appropriately quipped, ”We are changing the world faster than we can change ourselves and are applying to the present the habits of the past.”

So, how do we get unstuck?

This is where the stories we tell matter. In no small part, I believe we are the stories we tell. Both individually and collectively. But the story we have told ourselves over the last few hundred years, one that has fueled so much progress, needs to be upgraded. It’s like we are running the world on an ancient operating system.

So, it's about time to renew our story. A more regenerative story. A more human and less mechanistic story. A story that is about life's qualities more than life's quantities.

This is also hopeful. Because we can start telling ourselves a new story and begin believing again. People do it all the time. It’s perhaps one of our most celebrated and cherished human fables. The rise of the fallen. The second act. The comeback kid. Resurrection. A phoenix rising from the ashes.

I will stop there. Mainly to give you the gift of time to watch the talk below. Bruce Feiler gave a sensational talk on his latest book which covers exactly the topic of human transitions. He interviewed thousand people (or more) and curated their life stories, specifically their significant transitions (or as he calls them “lifequakes”). You can read more about his work on transitions here and also join the project by telling your own story, if you want to go deeper.

I found his book supremely relevant to the human condition right now. His talk is captivating and very inspiring. And I feel so important, individually and collectively, in this time of transition. I do hope you find the time to watch it. Thank you, Bruce! What a gift!