Thanks to Arianna Huffington, my recent blog post has been getting some serious traffic. Thanks, Arianna!
What’s even more amazing is how many people have shared their own struggles and stories about finding themselves. Thank you for your openness and generosity in sharing.
Even though I have had the book on my shelf for a while, I’m just now cracking open Brené Brown’s Rising Strong which is really resonating with me.
What’s jumping out at me the most is how we want to rush through the ugly, messy, middle part of the story. The first part of the story is the call to action–the classic Hero journey type stuff. Think Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen. In my case, it was working a job that wasn’t fulfilling me and knowing that there was More Than This. So, I stepped into the void and answered the call of great adventure. The middle part is the struggle, the finding of self, the great unknown. The last act is success.
So many of you have written to me about finding a life on the other side and being much happier. That’s the happy ever after, but what about the in-between? The moment of self-doubt, the worrying about being homeless on the side of the road, dying alone in a house and having my cats eat my face to survive (the fact that I don’t have cats is totally irrelevant to the story). The fact is that before you find your path, there is anxiety in the unknown. And yet, the vision of succes and adventure is greater than the fear of the unknown.
Fear of failure is huge for me. Fear of dying without really living or making an impact on the world in a meaningful way is greater.
So, as I stand on the precipice of a new great unknown, I try to remember Paulo Coelho’s wisdom that the universe will conspire to help you once you find the path. Also, the little gremlins who make up terrible stories in my mind should not be fed after midnight.
I think that I have found the next step, which I hope to share soon. But, please share how you get through the middle part where it is darkest before the dawn.
