Tag: change

Panic on the streets of…

Posted on by philipdodson

So went the lyrics from The Smiths song. It could be panic on any street anywhere in the world.

We all get moments of panic and it is normal, after all we’re human.

Viktor Frankl once said ‘between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom’.

We choose how we react and when panic sets in, we can either spiral into a pit of despair or we can switch to a different mindset.

It’s about asking ourselves different questions and moving from worry and blame to solution focused questions. Seeing where we can apply our knowledge and learning to find solutions. We then start to regain control.

Gradually the panic subsides and we can start to think calmly and look at how we can bring about the right outcome.

Staying stuck

Posted on by philipdodson

Often, we choose to stay stuck in life because it is ‘comfortable’. Even though we moan, complain and say out loud that we are ‘fed up’, ‘can’t stand it anymore’ there is a comfort in what we know.

Coming unstuck means leaving the ‘safety’ zone even if we are in discomfort there. It means leaving shore and heading off to a new safety zone, one which abstractly we want to be in, however, there is a bigger commitment needed to make that journey out of where we are, across the unknown, to a place we are not certain will be better than where we currently are.

The biggest change comes from uncertainty, from being vulnerable and brave enough to leave shore and head to the unknown. The alternative is staying stuck, easier it seems on the surface but long-term a million times harder to endure and to break, the longer we stay stuck.

Hard as the initial breakout is, the longer we stick at it the easier it gets. Of course, we may reach our destination and it may be no better, but we will have gained learning and we have built our bravery muscles to try another journey into the unknown.

Risk and uncertainty lead to new adventures and opportunities.

Staying stuck is a choice.