You may decide to take the plunge and move in a new direction but fear sets in and you find yourself trapped in “death valley”. This state has many different descriptions including depression, being immobilised or paralysed by your fears.
Digging yourself out can be difficult. Once you are inside “death valley” you are battling with your previous identity and trying to adjust to a new identity. Your stable, comfortable status quo has given way to a chasm of chaos. This is the most difficult part of personal transition.
How do you “rise above”?
Some say you need a psychological approach to “disarm your monsters”. Yet others believe you can move forward with a cognitive approach. Yet is there more to it than psychological? If your transition is too traumatic you may need clinical intervention. That’s up to you.
But there is a middle way – your own way. This is where you need to allow your creative mechanism to kick in, where you take baby steps toward your goal, your new direction. Courage, self-belief and perseverance are necessary ingredients. On the stormy waters of change and transition you need to find inner balance and calm to guide you on the journey towards your new destination.
It’s the same sort of success mechanism that you see working in nature. A squirrel that as never experienced a winter knows when to collect and store nuts so they’ll have food to last through the winter. Human beings have a similar inner knowledge that also helps them to survive periods of stress. One study showed that the number of therapy treatment approaches was around 60 in the early days and has grown to more than 400. Yet how many are effective? Ultimately, it depends on you to find the path that works best for you. Support in the form of a coach, adviser, consultant can play a guiding or nurturing role but it’s up to you to find what works best.
As you begin to find your way, taking small steps and adapting to your new status quo you see possibility, you realise the opportunities available to create alternative futures for yourself. When you have moved into creating alternatives, you may want to take a look at “Breakthrough Ideas”, a guide that will help you imagine creative possibilities. Here’s the link.
