Techniques for Envisioning Where to Take Transition
How using a visualisation technique can help you gain clarity and make better decisions during major life changes
When navigating major life transitions, such as a career break or personal life change, it can be challenging to determine the best path forward. This sense of uncertainty often arises because there are no structured pathways ahead, leaving us to figure out which direction is right.
In my previous blog post on navigating life transitions, I discussed the importance of giving yourself time and headspace to process the human side of change. In this second blogpost in my transition series, I want to share a powerful technique that can help clarify options and make more informed decisions during these transitions. This method, drawn from William Bridges’ book "Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes," provides a unique way to put choices into sharper focus.
William Bridges’ Technique: Visualising Your 90-Year-Old Self
Place your hands in front of you and interlock your fingers. Look down at your hands. But, instead of seeing your hands as they are today, imagine the hands of your 90-year-old self. Visualise your hands as they appear decades from now, marked by age. Picture wrinkled skin, discolouration, or fragility, showing the effects of a long life lived.
In this moment, you become your 90-year-old self, reflecting on the life you've lived. Think about what truly mattered to you. What were the most important investments of your time and energy? What are you proud of? What do you regret? Consider the things that now seem insignificant compared to the bigger picture.
Then, ask yourself: Why did certain things matter more than others? What unifying principles connect the things you value most? And how about the things that mattered less than you expected? Can you identify themes or values that have endured throughout your life?
Gaining Perspective on Life Decisions
When faced with multiple life choices, it’s often difficult to gain perspective because you’re caught up in the moment. Taking a step back is essential to understand what matters to you and why. This technique helps you see the bigger picture, enabling you to pick out the themes that align with living a life that’s truly meaningful to you.
Using this visualisation method allows you to tap into your own values and gain clarity without needing complex tools, frameworks, or even a pen and paper. You can access this perspective shift wherever you are, anytime you feel uncertain about where your life is heading, ensuring that your priorities remain top of mind.
This technique is especially useful when you’re going through major life or career change and struggling to make decisions. By reflecting as your future self, you gain a clearer sense of what truly matters, making it easier to align your decisions with your long-term life goals. Imagining your future self looking back also has the advantage of connecting up multiple life domains. For example, you will be able to more clearly envisage the impact a career decision has on your life outside of work, and how you feel about that in the longer term.
When you use this technique, you’ll find that it helps you focus on what’s important right away. It’s a simple, effective way to navigate change and keep your priorities in focus.
Lara’s take:
In times of transition, it can feel overwhelming to choose the right path. But by stepping into the shoes of your 90-year-old self, you gain a powerful perspective on your life’s direction. Visualisation is a unique way of quickly getting the depth required for an effective perspective shift, and its a technique that you can deploy anywhere. Its something that I keep coming back to every time I am at a crossroads, both in the time I set aside to think things through, and in the heat of the moment. This approach can help navigate transitions with clarity, ensuring decisions reflect what truly matters over the long term.
