"You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety." Abraham Maslow
One of the most heartbreaking things for me to see in my counseling practice is when people choose to step backwards into safety.
Doing our inner work, whether it is a call for radical change, or taking personal responsibility, or embracing a new way of being, is difficult. But I think there is a reason we even contemplate such things. We are called. Stuff happens. We find ourselves thinking: something has to change, or something's gotta give. Or even, "I can't believe that happened to me."
When such thoughts occur, that is a call. When we heed the call, life gets uncomfortable for a while. I call it the hallway. We have firmly shut the door on what used to be, because it no longer works and no longer feels good.
Yet, we don't yet know what is to come. We are in the hallway, when one or more doors have shut, and the new doors haven't opened yet. Sometimes those new doors haven't even presented themselves.
Being in the hallway is uncomfortable at best. Sometimes it is painful. And yet, if we can hang out there in the unknown for a while and wait, beautiful things happen.
But sometimes it gets so painful, we give in to the clamor of loud voices telling us to go back to the old way, it wasn't so bad. We ignore the red flags, we shut down that still quiet voice within, and we go back. And it doesn't work. Again.
If you are in a place where you are being called to change, I encourage you to listen to the quieter voice, the still small voice within. I encourage you to simply feel the pain and move through it. It won't be this painful forever and when the process is done you will be grateful you stayed the new course. Get some support. This kind of work is my specialty. I can help. Contact me now and step forward into growth!