The Roller Coaster

“My life has been a roller coaster ride, but somehow I’ve always been able to land on my feet and still play the guitar.”

-       Ace Frehley (founding member of KISS)

Richard M. Nixon is quoted as saying, “Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.” Well, anyone that is going through a Job Transition is experiencing some sort of valley(s).  You may not appreciate Richard’s quote at the moment, but the view from the valley is daunting.  No one writes those words while they are in the valley…they write them after they have emerged on the other side and climbed at least to flat ground, if not the up slope of the mountain. That is the part to focus on in that saying, you will get to the mountains…in time.

However, you are not there yet, are you?  Where are you?   You have just had the rug pulled out from under you.  The earth has just been tilted on its axis. You find yourself on a high speed train going through a tunnel, that you didn’t think you had purchased a ticket for. You have gone suddenly from living on dry land to being on a ship in stormy seas.

You didn’t know it at the time, but there were other forces at work.  Those forces were ratcheting you up to the top of the first tall hill on your own personal roller coaster.  The moment you are informed that you don’t have a job anymore, you find yourself racing down the backside of the roller coaster’s first hill. This can be exhilarating and fun when you are expecting it, but when you suddenly materialize in this situation…you will find it much more terrifying than fun. You are speeding down a hill that was not of your choosing and now you are strapped in for the ride. 

There is an interesting visual (by W. Bridges in 1991) that is called ‘Bridges’ Transition Model.’   This model has three primary phases to it. 

1.     ‘Endings’

2.     ‘Neutral Zone’

3.     ‘New Beginnings Zone’

The first phase is the ‘Endings’ phase where productivity starts a significant decline.  The length of all of these three phases will vary by person and situation, but this is likely the shortest phase.  The ground has shifted under your feet.  You are in righteous indignation mode and hell hath no fury like a worker scorned.   The person experiences shock, denial, anger, fear and sadness.  Whether you were pushed or jumped…if you spent more than 1-2 years at a place you will feel these emotions.  These are the most sleepless of the nights.  The strongest urges to go and ‘key’ someone’s car.  The tears and sobs of explaining this situation to your own family and close friends are real.

Then you hit the bottom.  The ‘Neutral Zone’, where you are going to feel confused, disoriented, frustrated, skeptical and apathetic.  This is your lowest point of productivity.   You are caught up in the emotion of the situation and unsure about how to move forward.   The only good news about this phase is that you are hitting rock bottom.  You are still talking and yelling at yourself for getting in this position, but you are starting to think about answering yourself back.  The ship sank, but now you find yourself in a lifeboat or clinging to a piece of wreckage.  You are adrift in the ocean and unsure of the future.  You have to decide to keep holding on, start to paddle, or work on a plan of survival.  The most important thing is to maintain some level of hope and not give up.

‘Endings’ -> ‘Neutral Zone’ -> ‘New Beginnings’

Once you have resolved that you are in the ‘Neutral Zone’, then you are potentially open to enter the ‘New Beginnings’ zone.  This is when you start on the ‘Upswing’ of the situation and you find yourself with new energy, being excited and committing yourself to some action.   This could be in the same industry; it could be with someone you know or it could be new all the way around.  It sort of doesn’t matter…what matters is if you can control yourself, find success and move beyond the situation.  The ‘Upswing’ is where we want to ‘live’.  It is the payoff for having gone through the Endings and the Neutral Zone.  Try to take a moment and appreciate this ‘Upswing’ ride.

You have now started to gain an appreciation for the ‘roller coaster’ that you find yourself in, or your closest friend or family might be finding themselves in.  My experience here is that it isn’t just down, bottom out and up…but rather a series of ups and downs.  The amplitude of the swings in emotions starts to subside, but the swings may go on for some time.  There is no assurance that this won’t happen again, but there is some consolation that we should be surrounded by people that will/could help ride this roller coaster with us.