Life tends to knock us down and impede progress when we are on the wrong track - or even when we are on the on the track path but maybe for the wrong reasons.
This phase feels like constant barriers, inability to catch your stride, the need to restart multiple times. As someone who is used to getting things accomplished, this stage is highly frustrating and your natural response could be to push through - getting more and more strategic to accomplish your goals.
When we find ourselves feeling stagnant, weighed down or like we are repeatedly confronted with obstacles, the powerful thing you can do is stop and reflect.
Take a moment to reflect on this important question:
When did things start getting difficult?
Something may come to you right away, if it doesn't spend a few minutes reflecting back to a time in your life when things seemed to be flowing freeing. Maybe you were starting up your business for the first time or you were back in college or even when you were a kid. It doesn't matter how far back you go, what matters is that it was a time when you felt free of the weight and frustrations you are feeling today.
From here, move forward in your mind until you pinpoint the timing just before things started to get more difficult.
Once you identify this time in your life, try to remember any new thoughts or beliefs you started to adopt about your future or about yourself and where you were in life. Maybe you started to realize that larger paychecks gave you a sense of security that you thought was really important. Maybe you started being hard on yourself for your daily habits and began correlating those to aspects you didn't like about yourself or your life.
This is an entirely individual exercise, it will be unique for you. The key is to reflect on new beliefs or perspectives you adopted during this timeframe. They don't need to be inherently negative either. These could have started as aspirational thoughts. These are thoughts that - whether positive or negative - drove some shift in your behavior or perspective. Maybe you started looking for a new type of job or you began pushing yourself in a new direction.
Write it down.
Now, think about it from where you sit today.
Is it true?
Is it helpful?
Delete what you no longer need or you know now to be false.
Edit the belief with nuance or wisdom you have today.
Replace the old belief with your new version.
Over the next week, come back to this new version of the belief as often as you can. Reflect on how you would adjust your day to day to realign with this new version of the belief. What would it look like to live according to it versus living according to the old belief (which is probably your natural tendency or habit today).
The more time you can spend reflecting over the next week, the more integrated the new belief will be in your mind.
If this sparks curiosity in you, I'd love to meet and see if you would benefit from working together. I offer one on one mindset facilitation and coaching for people who are looking to expand into their next phase of life and want to do so authentically and joyfully. Set up a free 15 minute call to get to know each other!
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