When you feel stuck, trapped, or immobilized there are actually two positive paths you can take and a third one that will get you nowhere. One positive path you can try is to see if it is possible, practical, or desirable to simply modify or reinvent the existing chapter of your life through incremental changes or enhancements (for example, by staying in the same career field but changing companies; or staying in the same company, but changing departments). The second path is to end the old chapter and begin a transition toward a new chapter by exploring, planning, training, etc. The third is to remain stuck in the whining and complaining stage – unfortunately this is the path that often feels more comfortable and familiar than setting out on a new journey - but it will only prolong your state of confusion. If you need help to navigate a transition to a new phase then by all means seek out the resources you need to support you (e.g., a book, course, coach, mentor) but whatever you do keep moving forward.

The Bottom Line

Confusion exists when what you thought you knew no longer works and the boundaries of your life and your thought processes loosen enough to let in new breakthrough ideas and actions. Confusion is like the storm before the calm – it is an unstable period that allows you to notice and consider things that simply would have remained invisible during your stable times. It opens your horizons and unhinges your rigid beliefs. It is a well known fact that some of the greatest revolutionary new inventions have been made by people who came from outside of the field they were inventing in – simply because they were not bound by the rigid set of beliefs instilled in those who were “educated” in the field. Let the same be true for you when you are reinventing your life. Embrace your periods of confusion and uncertainty as you allow the rigid thought patterns and behaviors that have constrained you in the past to loosen and fall away. Allow your state of confusion to be the birthplace where your genius emerges.

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