Have you ever had the feeling that you don’t fit in with your own life? That what used to work is just not working anymore? Or maybe that what you thought would work at some point down the line hasn’t looked all that promising for what feels like a pretty long time.

Survival of the Fittest

From Getting to G.R.E.A.T.  “A great life depends on a great fit between who we are and the environments in which we work and live.” It’s been that way since the beginning of time —environmental fitness — exactly what survival of the fittest is all about. So, of course it feels deadening when the fit just feels wrong.

The big reflection often happens on zero birthdays. But sometimes we are forced to reexamine things because something happened, like a job loss or loss of a loved one. And then there are times when the trigger is more that nothing much, that feels worth much, is happening at all.

Beyond Crisis

It happens in quarter life (20/30s), midlife (~40-60) and now, because we live so long, in later life too (>60). Millennials are hit especially hard. So what we used to think of as the midlife crisis really can happen at any age. The idea in a nutshell is that what people are calling life crisis may simply be our way of telling ourselves it’s time for an upgrade, either internally, externally, or both.

Of course, it goes without saying that if you are not sleeping, noticing changes in appetite, weight, daily activities, suffering debilitating, unyielding sadness…please by all means contact your doctor to talk about the best ways to take care of yourself.

Short of that, the tree wants to grow, the bird wants to fly, and so do we. Crisis sounds so negative, when all it really means is that it is time to do some tweaking of our lives. And what could be more wonderful than wanting to thrive, to grow, to be excited about living a life that feels more like the one we were put here to live.

I know what it feels like to have this alignment. I am living it now. And I know what it feels like to not. And I know how possible it is to get from there to here, because I also bear witness to it inch by inch, step by step, week after week with my clients as well.

What it Takes

One big thing it takes is a quiet enough mind to be able to hear the whispers from deep within ourselves on what needs to happen next, and next, and next. Just about anyone can learn how to quiet the mind, and there are lots of apps and lots of people available to help.

You can also grab some of the mind management exercises in the “Complimentary…” pulldown on my website at https://madelaineweiss.com  

“Power Breathing” and “The Breathing Room” are both especially good for quieting the noisy mind. And then if you care to, please let us know what you find.

Love,

Madelaine

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash