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Resilience
Oh the Places We Can Go
Steering life in new directions.
Posted February 6, 2015 Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” ―Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
The other day, a Facebook friend of mine told me I fit Dr. Seuss’ book called Oh, The Places You’ll Go! I had not heard of this book, before her comment. I was heartened by her remark. Nothing is so vivifying to the human spirit as being clearly seen.
What I love most about her remark is the idea of using our time on earth to expand ourselves as psychological and spiritual beings, as much as possible. Indeed, she’s right; I have approached life in this way and love nothing more than to show people how to do the same. To me, everything we do in life, even the relationships we have, are primarily vehicles for self-actualization. This approach actually enriches our commitments because we keep learning and growing to service them more healthily.
We human beings are remarkably resilient. No matter what happens to us, we have the brains and two feet to steer life in the direction of our choice. With enough curiosity, courage, and determination, we can decide which goals and dreams to actualize. This is our right.
But, not all of us have learned how to positively change our life circumstances to maximize personal growth and fulfillment. We may not see early enough when our relationships, work, or activities are undermining our physical, emotional, and spiritual health, when it is time to pack up our tent and move onward. Knowing how to change our lives for the better was less critical in easier times. But, today, more and more people worldwide are totally wiped out by devastating circumstances. They have no choice but to steer their lives in a new direction. Life calls for us to become acutely aware of the choices we have made thus far and their value to our future happiness and health.
It’s at this point where we ask ourselves, “Is this really where I want to be at this point in my life?” “Is this relationship, job, or activity any longer good for my body, mind, and spirit?” We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater just because we are bored or restless and in need of novelty. We have to know how to examine life experience for change that is vital to our continued welfare and growth.
Is it time to make a personal change?
The three questions that follow help us to think through where we are at in our life right now. Is what is happening physically, emotionally, and spiritually good for us or tearing us down somehow? Is it time to make a personal change for the better? I have asked myself these same questions many times in my own life.
1. How is your personal energy? We are constantly responding to the things that happen to us that have an impact on our physical and mental energy. Anxiety, fatigue, restlessness, boredom, and reckless desires to destructively act out (e.g., infidelity, alcohol or drug use, gambling) can be signs that we feel pulled down by some circumstance in our lives and that it may be time to make a personal change. When our energy gets stuck or something we are doing or involved in is now unhelpful to us, our bodies show this in fatigue, instability, and physical symptoms.
We have to become aware of our personal energy. Personal energy never lies; it tells us when we are stressed, unhappy, or beaten down, and also when we feel happy and motivated by our lives. Experiences that positively energize us are generally simpatico with our true natures and are good for our welfare.
2. Are you learning and growing enough in a relationship, job, or activity that you have right now? If your answer is no, it may be time to find something that energizes you and keeps you learning and growing. Or, it may be time to let go of this experience, altogether. Only you yourself can decide this.
In my own life, I did not always heed the call to let go of a relationship when it wore me down and did little to support my true needs and desires. This isn’t easy to do, as we tend to believe that we should keep friends forever, even when they hurt or work against us. Guilt can get us to tune out on energies (depression, anxiety, fatigue, boredom, destructive acting out) that tell us a relationship, job or activity is no longer right for us.
To keep steering ourselves in directions that are healthy for us, we have to embrace the idea that some people and experiences that come our way are not meant to be with us forever. We have to love and cherish everything we learn from them, good and bad. They are all messengers on our life journey.
3. Do your life choices reflect your true needs, desires, and purpose? None of us is living a life made up of everything that fits with our true natures. Some of us work at jobs that have little relation to our creative needs or have friends or lovers who share few of our interests. What is important to our health and happiness is that some of our lives authentically reflect us. If we find little of our true selves in the things we do, we want to open up new activities, relationships, or work that is a better fit with us.
Never forget that each of us has the right to take our personal journey as far as we wish for it to go. We decide when it’s time to unpack our bags and stay put for a while and when it’s time to pack up again and journey to new places to keep learning and growing.
