ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how life-historical and life-structural elements combine to shape the way we set up and manage the transitions induced by life choices. In contrast to long-anticipated decisions, some life choices spring into the world without lengthy deliberation. Some that apparently bypass conscious planning often accompany what we could call "discoveries". It is said of some individuals that they create their own problems, that if they lacked a dilemma, they would make one up. To some extent this is valid. All of us participate in constructing our own dilemmas. Dilemmas are also affective structures grounded in aspects of social relations currently and historically experienced. Framing appears to simplify matters, but it can also place us in a world much more complex than it actually needs to be and may even completely misrepresent a problem. To explore framing a bit further, consider how another subject struggled with a framing problem.
