Life is an ever-changing set of competing priorities, where visions become reality in the context of daily demands. For me these days life is occurring at an ever-quickening level of intensity, as my different priorities compete with the mundane for my time and attention. And I know from talking with clients and students that this is a very familiar place for a lot of people.
I hear people tell me, often on the verge of desperation, that they cannot figure out how to create new lives and manage the daily demands of jobs, marriages, children, and admin. They’re overwhelmed.
One thing I notice in my life is that I always end up the same place again and again, being invited to be there differently. And I’ve begun to recognize that life occurs in cycles and that we repeat the similar patterns around the same issues again and again to learn to make better choices. This is the process of personal transformation.
This post is #6 in a series of 12 which take you through the 12 stages of the creative process of being alive, using the compass I outline in my book, The Wheel Of Creativity: Taking Your Place in the Adventure Of Life.
Step 6: Stop fighting.
The sixth step in the journey is to stop fighting. Station six in the Wheel of Creativity is Crisis. Crisis is the place where you feel completely overwhelmed. It’s as life’s got you in its grip, and you can’t regain control of yourself.
When you feel you’re drowning, there is a tendency to just keep pushing, fighting, doing what you’ve and expecting different results. But, as Einstein is said to have written, this is the definition of insanity itself.
When the waves of life are crashing down on you, stop fighting. Stop and surrender. Step back for a clearer look at what’s really happening. Make space to work with the energy of life as it is rather than against it. And that will lead you, first through Chaos, and then on to…
Step 7, Conception, which I’ll describe tomorrow.
Learn more.
Twelve days, 12 steps. One step each day on the road of creating your life. To be sure you don’t miss one of the steps, move your cursor up the sidebar on the right and type your email address into the box beneath “Don’t miss a post! Get blog alerts.” I’ll email them to you.
At the end of the 12 days, on September 15th, I’ll also be offering a free half-hour Discovery Call in which you can learn more about the Wheel of Creativity and an in-depth course I’ll be offering this Autumn.