Why is it that some people grow from their challenges while others seem to get stuck or relive the same issues over and over?
Perhaps it's because some of us try to avoid looking at the middle portion of our journey. You know that part where everything fell to pieces - including ourselves? That part where we learned a lesson or two or three? That part of our story is always the most challenging to look back on. Many of us just want to shove those pain-filled moments out of our minds and move on, because those moments have the most potential for shame. But we can't just skip over that part of our past, because it's there in the messy middle of our journey, where everything important happened.
When we're able to go back and examine that humbling middle portion of our lives and really understand and FEEL the hows, whats and whys that led us down such colorful roads, we heal and walk away with the wisdom that was meant to be gained from it all. Wisdom about who we truly are. And from that enlightened understanding of ourselves we are able to embrace and really love ourselves again. You see, it frees us. Our refusal to explore the middle holds us back in life. Anytime we deny a difficult experience, it owns us. The shame and pain keeps us in it's clutches even if we think we have buried it well, because it shows up today in the form of blocks and barriers to our goals and success.
When we allow ourselves to go back and re-examine the middle, it shifts our awareness of ourselves so that we are able to transform how we face future obstacles. We begin to believe in ourselves again, and in so doing, change the course of our lives. We take charge of our own narratives. Remember, brave people fall and sometimes that fall is a humdinger. That's just part of the great quest called life. The only thing that ever holds us back from living our dreams is ourselves. So lets get back up, dust ourselves off and really live our best life by courageously feeling all that awkward stuff in the middle.