Frost and GPS Navigation
Many people spend years - even decades of their lives agonizing over knowing they need to make a change but being too scared to do it. They are often frozen in limbo, feeling like something isn’t quite right with where they are, but being too scared to try something different. Fear is a powerful emotion and one that can prevent us from doing just about anything - even the good stuff! In fact, often when we take a close look at the differences between ourselves and those we admire and aspire to be like, there isn’t actually much separating us. They very often aren’t any smarter, more gifted or talented than anyone else, they just weren’t paralyzed by a fear of failure and weren’t afraid of working hard - that’s really about it. So that means we can all get there, be who we want to be and live our best lives.
How can we get our frozen-in-fear selves to take those first few steps in a new direction? The spooky part, is the fear of going in the wrong direction. Sooo, how can we alleviate this fear - how do we know which is the right way to go?! Well, the opposite of fear is feeling safe, so that then would logically be the best remedy - but of course then we start thinking of all the worst-case scenarios and potential hazards etc etc…annnd thus the freezing continues as we begin to form ice crystals from our lack of movement in any direction. But I have good news! No matter which direction you step, you’re going the right way - because you’re going! Will it be smooth, conflict and hazard free? Probably not, but we also have a little internal navigation system built in to help guide us. The secret is that it only really works when we’re moving and trying different things and new directions.
Our body is guiding us and sending us messages all the time. We talked a bit about this in the very first post (the Drive to Work), and in the Define Better post. When you are heading the wrong way, your body lets you know. You don’t feel well, you’re super stressed, your pain is worse, your mental health is worse, you get sick or injured more often, you’re unhappy, etc etc. Early on, the body might just be whispering these messages, but if you continue to head the wrong way, they get louder and louder. Sound familiar? Like maybe a little device that you’ve used in your car or on your phone to get you to where you want to go? When we master this skill of listening to our body and the subtle directions it is trying to give us, our journey will be much more pleasant - like following that pre-programmed GPS. There may be a few traffic jams and speed bumps, but we get the most direct and smoothest route when we choose that option.
When we ignore these directions, because we “think” we know how to get there (even though we often don’t even really know where “there” is), our little GPS machine will begin to chirp at us “proceed to the route” “make a U-turn” “wrong way”. When we continue to ignore it, it will bark louder, and more frequently, and continue to do this until we eventually start listening to it. Thankfully, it will now announce “recalibrating”, and graciously re-configure our route no matter where we are, or how far we have strayed.
You see, you can’t really go wrong! You’ve got your safety nets set: 1. Knowing that no matter which direction you choose to step or how far off course you may wander, as long as you’re moving, there’s always going to be a route to get you where you need to go; and 2. You can make the journey easier by listening to your body and you’ll end up in the right place, doing the right thing, with the right people before you know it!
So don’t sit there wondering: Do I make the career change first? Do I move first? Do I go back to school? Do I focus on meeting people? Do I play volleyball or basketball? Do I start eating better first? Do I start exercising first? It really doesn’t matter, one road will lead to the next but it can only do that when you’re not standing still shivering and covered in frost.