Make your own way!

Make your own way!

Sometimes life doesn’t just close the door on something, sometimes it slams the door in your face. Faced with that door it’s hard to know what to do because we’re taught from a young age that we have a checklist to complete in order to achieve success. We’re supposed to accomplish goals that lead into each other, like a college degree that leads us into a career. We’re also supposed to have a clear plan by the time we’re 18, if not sooner. What happens though, when a hurdle arrives in our clear cut path? Our view of the world gets thrown and we’re left trying to collect the pieces. Personally my own trajectory has never followed the status quo and I’ve always found myself watching from the periphery as others took the designated path. When I was younger it made me anxious that I’d never achieve success but today I’m thankful for the freedom it gives me.

As humans we are designed to be adaptable, evolution demanded it, and yet in this age of indulgence we seem to be putting the brakes on this natural reaction. When something befalls us, we catastrophize. Our media, our language and our attitudes convey constant extremes. We spend all of our time dreaming up ways that things could go wrong and when they do go wrong, generally in a way we hadn’t even thought of, we see it as the end of the world. Our programming is such that we truly believe that if things don’t follow the socially adhered course then all is lost. Depression has become common in the masses and a lot of the time it’s cause is rooted in this. We are fed lies about how our lives should look and feel and when they inevitably don’t, we are dejected.

Unfortunately life will dole out unforeseen circumstances, some will be positive and some negative, but it is our response to these that really count. No amount of preparation, by which I mean overthinking every possibility, will prevent things from happening. The only way to truly ‘prepare’ is to know that things will happen and that you can only do your best and cross those bridges when they arrive. They are never as terrifying in reality as they are in our imaginations. When life does deliver blows it’s alright to feel them. You can receive them the way you would receive a punch, you can take a step backward, acknowledge the pain and feel the momentary defeat. Processing emotions is an incredibly important thing for our well being, they are like the lights on a car dashboard, letting us know when something is wrong. Once you’ve acknowledged those indicators and let yourself process them, you can move on. You fill your car with gas, or oil, or whatever it was, and then you keep driving. You don’t forever cling to the memory of the time you were low on oil just as you wouldn’t blame your car for needing it. That is the way we need to be with ourselves, finding the balance of responsibility and self forgiveness.

To bring out that old cliche, when one door closes another opens. Sometimes things will lead us to another path we never considered and it’s important to remember that life isn’t predictable in the least. There is no perfect formula in order to complete it, because life is meant to be lived. Don’t let disappointments defeat you, take a closer look at what else is around you. The only goal I set for you is to be the true conqueror of your own life, and what does that mean? The definition is yours to make…

Conquering lives everyday…www.thriveprogrammeweybridge.co.uk