Living The Questions of Adult Development
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
-Rainer Maria Rilke
shedding
Many of our clients come to us a moments when old identities no longer seem to fit, when relationships fail to satisfy, when old work identities and partnerships no longer feel vital or productive.
"I once belonged, and now I am an outsider."
"I was once sure how to contribute, and now it's a nagging question."
"What's next to master, and do I have the energy for it?"
In the midst of this, many of us feel a sense of emptiness and despair, while simultaneously, perhaps, excitement about the unknown.
a literature that describes a path
Over the last forty years a robust literature has emerged that now describes the phases, or stages, of adult human development throughout the lifespan. In other words, this is not your parents' midlife crisis. Using the most sophisticated diagnostic assessments, we are able to help clients understand the path they may be walking, and grapple more clearly with the demands of these transitions. Simply knowing that others have made this journey, and what may lie ahead, is of great comfort to many.
From discernment to action
At The Next Chapter Institute, we believe that clarity of purpose and values naturally morphs to action. After a period of immersion and reflection, our clients emerge with very specific, powerful plans about what comes next for them, or their teams, or their companies, or their relationships. We also believe that right action is best supported by a network of colleagues and critical friends. The Institute supports and connects its clients with others in our networks long after the client's fellowship is over.