Over the years I’ve worked with a lot of people who started out with so many hopes and aspirations. Once upon a time their dreams seemed so real and achievable. Suddenly, almost as if they took a wrong turn, those dreams have vanished. Weirdly, you don’t even realise that you’ve taken that wrong turn. Those dreams are still there somewhere. Then, one day they’re not. And feeling lost seems to be the only way forward. Because it can feel like those dreams are lost forever. And we let it happen. Bizarrely, it’s so easy to end up feeling lost that the thought of finding yourself can be overwhelming.
We make a lot of life choices in our late teens and early twenties. Indeed, spend a moment thinking back to who you were and what you wanted when you were that age. Importantly, see if you can reconnect with the emotions you felt at that time. There was, for me, that sense of everything is possible. And, of course, when you’re that age there is, for many, a feeling of invincibility, that time is on our side.
Inexplicably, you wake up one day, stuck in a rut that you didn’t mean to get into and can’t escape. Those plans which filled you with excitement have got you to where you are today. It’s not what you want. Fine back then, and no longer working for who you are today. How on earth did that happen?
You can, of course, soldier on. The responsibilities. The bills. The mortgage. The expectations. Can you really let so many down by changing direction and reclaiming the excitement?
You may also decide that this is where and who you are now. This is how it’s meant to be. The fading embers of your dreams are all that is left, and you’re OK with that. Alternatively, you may actually be living the dream. It may be the dream from all those years ago. It may be something different. If it’s good and it’s working for you, are you really lost?
That is, perhaps, an important point. Our dreams can change as we live and grow. Who we are in our late teens and early twenties can be different from who we are when we’re in our thirties and forties, or older. It’s fine to let the dreams change, provided that we’re the ones changing the dreams.
If, however, the dreams have faded and fallen through our actions or inactions, maybe it’s time to rethink. Which can be scary. Very scary. Because it means that we recognise that we’re not who we want to be. Lost. Without having previously realised that we’re lost.
It can be overwhelming. To know that you can find yourself can be a daunting prospect. Where do you start? What does it mean for your reality of now? What does change look like? Who will join me as I change? The list goes on.
It all starts with a step back. Take stock and decide what’s working and what could be working better. Make some plans for now or for later. Realise that you can, once more, find yourself and get yourself back on track.
If you can do it, do it now. If you’re not sure, book an initial consultation here, and then take the next step. You know that you can do it, and you know that it makes sense, don’t you?
