Wisdom Wednesday - Change

As I left work tonight I was composing this entry in my mind – a new idea, to spread wisdom on Wednesday’s about different things I am learning and share the knowledge with others.  As I drifted off into my own little world on the bus, figuring out what I would write, I had my idea all ready to go.

And then .....

I went to the gym. 

The topic I was going to discuss today, the original one – it is not ready – it is still in the process of being developed.  Though I do have words of wisdom to share from a workshop I went to this fall.  The workshop was a weekend spent with a diverse group of women who shared knowledge and time together.  One conversation in particular popped up in my mind today, a conversation I had sitting under the full moon in the middle of the country.  The topic was about deciding to move forward in life and how to choose which way to go. 

The question – how do you go from stuck, to moving forward, when you fear that you will make the wrong choice?

The answer I received was insightful and I must give credit to Jannette Anderson for these words.  When the pain of being stuck is simply too much and exceeds the pain or fear of making a wrong choice – that is when you will get up and move forward.  It is like sitting in the middle of a room full of doors (or choices), you can choose to stay sitting or try a door.  There is nothing wrong with choosing to stay in the middle and look at the options.  The change will occur when sitting in the middle is more uncomfortable then making any choice, even the wrong choice, to try a door and something new.  In other words, when the unknown is less uncomfortable then the known– you simply open a door and try a new path – moving towards a new location.  Tonight, I choose to try a door.

My current struggle is that I no longer feel strong – I cannot keep up with the activities I use to do and I feel weak, both inside and out.  In addition, I struggle with the reality that the clothes in my closet are getting tighter and I really dislike shopping.  Tonight as I sat in my house debating whether to go to the gym and work out or stay home and do something else – the words of wisdom came to me.  My inner voice spoke out and said – “What is more painful – going to the gym and working out, or being this unhappy with how you feel?”  I cannot really explain where this voice came from, but the wisdom was there.  I am not happy where I currently am and I have the ability to choose a way to move out of it.  So I packed up my stuff and headed to the gym.

The freedom really comes in changing my approach to the decisions I am making in my life.  Tonight the answer was that trying something new was less painful then staying where I was.  However, this is not always the case.  When using the knowledge that when the time is right to change, I will change – it has taken the guilt out of the process.  I find I don’t beat myself up for what I “should” be doing; I simply accept where I am and know that a new day or moment, will bring a chance to make a new choice.  This concept gives me power – when I am ready, when I decide, when I choose – all the power lies with me. 

The wisdom for this Wednesday can be summarized as this:

When staying stuck is worse then moving forward – that is when change will occur.  Be kind and gentle with yourself, when the time is right, you will choose a door and move through to find a new path.