Is this all there is to life?!   

Need some encouragement for today?  

Midlife crisis is happening earlier and to everyone, (regardless of age).   

Are you feeling discouraged or depressed about things?  

It’s good you are noticing.  

It happens when our wheels are spinning.  

We feel like we are not moving forward in the way we want to.    

Things are not playing out the way we thought life would play out.  

Hold on!  

You just need a new map.        

The world has changed a lot and your map needs to change too.  

How can I feel better about my life?  

TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOUR LIFE – rewrite the map you are using to navigate your life to be accurate, reconciling what you “thought things were going to be like” with reality, gives you the power to make impactful changes in your trajectory, helping you find happiness, cultivate joy and hope, and build a healthy mind, heart, and body.  

If the map you are using is outdated you are going to feel lost.      

What map are you using to navigate?  

Who told you what life was all about?  

What do you believe you should be doing to be a worthwhile person?

What did you think your life would look like at this point (ideally)?  

What did you think the world would be like at this point?  Is it?  

This map is outdated! 

You can’t get anywhere if the map is old, damaged, and inaccurate.  

Get a new map!  An accurate one…

The things you believed, the stories you were told and that you told yourself didn’t get you where you wanted to be at this point.  That’s why you are frustrated.  You get the opportunity now to reassess things.  To get clear.  To fix the map.  

Write down the old ideas you’ve been living by and cross out the things that are just plain wrong or that you’re not sure about anymore.  

Write down the things that are true today, right now.  You may write down “I’m tired.” “I’m over-weight” “I’m hungry for more” “I’m happy with a simple life and I need things to slow down” or “I’m feeling hopeless about things” or “I have low self-esteem” or “I’m capable of more than my job allows me to do” or “I don’t care about money” or “I want to earn more money” or pretty much whatever comes into your mind or heart…don’t judge it, just write it down and let it sit there on the page while you let the new map write itself. 

Write down “i thought I would …..by now” “I thought things would be ……..” “I want more ………… than I realized”     

It will blow your mind to realize that there were these inaccurate ideas, old guiding stars that were having a huge gravitational pull on your everyday life and your values, goals and dreams.     

Realizing that they are not accurate anymore and getting a reality check into what things are true for you today sets you free to re-evaluate things and get on the right path that leads out of the woods.  

Is your LADDER leaning against the WRONG WALL?

There’s nothing like climbing a ladder only to get to the top and realize that’s not where you want to be.  

We are given a lot of “this is the way life is” growing up by others, but along the way, we figure ourselves out and a lot of the time who we are is not who our parents or grandparents were, and the world we live in is different than the world they lived in.  

The way we were built is different.  We have to be who God made us to be, in this world that exists around us right now.

Seeing where your wheels are spinning will tell you what you need to do next.

Maybe you are trying to buy a house in an impossible market because your outdated map tells you this is the only way to happiness and success.  If you throw out that map you can make other choices that are more in line with reality today.  You can stop spinning your wheels in the mud and go in another direction where you can get traction on dry ground.  

You need to argue with the old value, the old map, and ask – is this true anymore?  

Things keep changing. 

New roads are built.  

New signs, new speed limits, new rules.  

Old roads are closed.  

Things change.  

You change.  

The world changes.  

It’s exciting, it’s heartbreaking, …it’s okay.    

You need to keep changing your map to keep it accurate! 

Spinning wheels (discouragement, the feeling of “is this all there is?!”) come from something inaccurate on your map.     

With an accurate map, you can make better choices and get out of the mud.  You can stop spinning your wheels.  

You will feel hope and cultivate a satisfying life, built just for you, by you.  

The chapter ahead has a great author…

YOU!

…And now, after doing all of this stressful yet important soul work, have an Izzie, get outside, go for a walk, and laugh at the curiosity of it all.

Being in nature will help you sort it all out, while also lowering your stress hormones and improving your capacity for joy!

All the best. -MJ