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Hi ,
I've been involved in personal development work for a long time but there's a dark dirty side to it that's not talked about very often ( although Pamela Slim in her excellent blog ....) writes eloquently about it. This dark dirty secret is called "the wall".
So how do you know if you have hit the wall? Here are some signs...
- You are tired of self-improvement and want to go out and eat the contents of a fridge/do illegal immoral things with strange people/drink yourself silly/do bungee jumping without a rope.
- You think gratitude is a crock of s*** and you are mutinously determined not to be grateful for having what everyone else has.
- You know appreciation is the highest energy blah blah but you know what...you are tired of being appreciative. When was the last time someone appreciated YOU?
- You find yourself watching several episodes of CSI/Criminal Minds/Law and Order/Flashforward in one session lying on the couch (or is that just me?)
- You look at your life and castigate yourself for being a total loser (your small inner voice pipes up with news of loving family members, challenges overcome, and joyful accomplishment and you just tell it to shut up.)
- Or my personal favourite "it's all s*** anyway"
Any of this sound familiar? Well if you engage in the work of personal growth...you WILL hit this wall and what's more hit it more than once. So what do you do when you are feeling like this?
- Doubt the doubt (Karen Vizer suggests this as a strategy to deal with the noisy vicious self-doubt of this time). So ask yourself is it really true that you are a loser etc? probably not all the time...
- Honour that part of you that may be tired and wants to rest by lowering your standards and cutting yourself some slack. See if you can reschedule appointments and commitments that seem too strenous.
- Have a "wall buddy" - someone who knows what it's like and who is willing to be the voice of sanity for you.
- Hold this as your mantra.."This too shall pass". It always does.
- This wall is often the precursor to a growth spurt in your capacity to enjoy life...
What I have really enjoyed this month....
- Finland: great people, great scenery, everything running efficiently...and looooonng nights...
- Working with the fabulous group I met in Finland where I was teaching on a multicultural course
- Watching the miraculous growth and recovery of Nature after devastating wildfires near where I live.
- Mangling the French language as I attempt to learn to speak French but what a great resource the Internet is for this...
- That first cup of coffee in the morning...ahhh.
- Episodes of FlashForward...yep, them too.
- Grace Cards.
- www.nataliedee.com (love her whacky t-shirts and cartoons)
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