Are you in the emotional manure? Is suffering defining parts of your life? Good. Great! The situation undoubtedly feels like it sucks, but rest certain you're close to a new sense of freedom. It's waiting and it will be born.

But there's a hitch. A biggie; you must choose to sit in the discomfort.

The pattern of ignoring the pain, rather than indulging it, is the real problem. We indulge it by feeling it. It wants to be felt. (That's why it's so persistent). It wants to live it's temporary little life and then die. So our freedom can be born.

Ever smash your toe on something? That sharp, electric current instantly stops everything that was just happening. Thought. Activities. Conversation. Breath. And it throbs unceasingly. No Tylenol 3 can help fast enough so you're stuck in the ache. Then it begins receding. And ceases. You can breath again. You begin to relax. Then the relief settles in. It's almost euphoric, because you're free of that temporary, staggering intensity from that surprise sensation. (The release of some exquisite hormones helps too.)

Relief is also possible for our emotional angst.

But unlike a stubbed toe, most of us aren't forced to indulge it. So we avoid it.

Several years ago there was a ubiquitous phrase floating around the socials. Remember "I can't even..."? Short for: "This is so overwhelming I can't even articulate my feelings or thoughts", it implied a scenario was too much to handle. This was less a statement of fact, and more a dramatic way of admitting "I'm out of my comfort zone."

It's what most of us do. Rather than pushing through the dysfunction, we deflect. Unwilling to endure a fleeting situation, we end-up delaying the opportunity to meet a new aspect of ourselves. We continue to defer and/or numb, distracting from the pain –and growth– to stay in the manure of victimhood.

Meanwhile, freedom waits patiently on the other side. Always.

And always, always.

No matter how dire a situation feels, freedom is waiting for us to get the gumption to sit, notice and feel our difficult emotions. If we do –or rather, when we do– on the other side there's a new, more clear, adaptive and capable person greeting us in the mirror.

And not just sometimes. Always.

Always, always.

TAGS:  #Audacious Strategies #Energizing Creativity #Wisdom At Work #Human Energy #Human Performance #Adaptation As Innovation

Les Mottosky

Adaptation Strategist // I help organizations turn creativity into their competitive advantage by aligning leadership, culture and strategy to unlock adaptive innovations.

Ask about the Clarity Engine Process.

lesmottosky@mac.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/les-mottosky-9b94527/

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