A broad new awareness often results in a series of emotional responses that mimic the grief associated with loss. This report identifies what I call the Six Stages of Awareness (loosely modeled on the Five Stages of Grief). You may find it useful to share this report with friends and family who are struggling with their feelings about our current and future economic outlook, Peak Oil, environmental issues, or any of the other issues that we routinely discuss here at PeakProsperity.com.
If you have already read this report, I strongly encourage you to read it again. It is a good reminder that everyone is naturally at their own stage in the journey. We all deserve the compassion and acceptance of others as we prepare ourselves for a different kind of future.
In all modesty, I want to suggest a slightly different model. I was doing change adjustment research at the same time Kubler-Ross was doing her identification of the stages of dying. The major difference is that I was doing research on significant transitions for people who were going to stay alive. My findings were similar, but obviously more hopeful in the final (7th) stage.
My research was published originally as a dissertation at Case Western Reserve University (1969). It also came out as an academic book called Transition (Adams, Hayes & Hopson, 1976, London, Martin-Robertson) and as the self help book Life Changes (Spencer &Adams, 1990, San Luis Obispo, Impact; and 2002, NY, Paraview Special Editions – see here). It is also summarized in my Thinking Today as if Tomorrow Mattered (2000, San Francisco, Eartheart) book on sustainable consciousness.
John,
I have your book (Thinking Today as if Tomorrow Mattered ) on my reading table but have not yet started it. This thread is a good reason to read it and then I will have a better understanding of the seven stages you mention. Thanks for the post.
Hi John,
I have never really been totally comfortable (I have Ph.D. in clinical) with this model for this purpose and am glad to hear of your books. Will check them out.
It might sound a bit bizarre, but when I finished watching the Crash Course I felt my tummy flip. Not because I was particularly alarmed at the prospect of tough times to come. But because I suddenly envisaged that with a lessening of social complexity, the Internet could be at risk and I wouldn’t be able to stay connected to sites like this one…
… not sure what stage you’d put that one into
