The messy middle. That place after “what was then” and before “what is to come.” You no longer have that job or partner or vitality, but you don’t know what the future holds. It’s a crappy place filled with self-doubt, feeling lost or stuck, and confused. It’s the best pity-party you ever hosted!
And because we only know what we know we rush to replace what we had – with another job in the same field (even though it never felt quite right) – with another partner (before resolving what was wrong with the last relationship) – or we start retirement doing what we thought we were supposed to do without considering what brought us joy and fuelled our passions while working (and wonder why retirement feels so empty).
Accepting that the horrible feelings that arise in the messy middle are requisites to letting go and moving forward ultimately leads to the treasures of “what is to come.” And the answers really do lie within, but we all resist this journey for fear of what we’ll find.
That journey? It is about connecting to what is important to you, your skills and strengths and seeing them as guideposts for the way forward. As is an open mind. Clues about what is possible can come from a decade-by-decade review. What stood out in each of the past decades in work and life? What were the wins and what about them made you feel like a rock-star? The people, the effort, the subject area, the outcomes, the location, or something else? These are all things that remind us of what lights us up and may light the path ahead. A shift happens once you give yourself time to see how all your pieces can be used and moved to create what is next in your life.
If you feel something itching to shift within you check out Next in Life Services. Being in the messy middle is what most Next in Life client have in common.