Stuck In The Middle

Someone recently expressed to me how they were suddenly feeling discombobulated, and everything felt harder than usual. This particular person is also in the midst of organizing and decluttering their house, rehabbing several horses in their herd, and realigning themselves with their horsemanship approach. Lots of movement, shifts, unknowns, nothing feels the same as it once did…… yet, it's exactly where they want to be. 

My response: “Sounds like you're right in the MIDDLE….. I get how real the challenge is.” 

There is something to be said for the middle, and frankly, I think that's where the most growth happens. It's where we make a conscious choice to either keep going or turn around and sprint for the familiar. Autopilot finds a back seat.

Middles can be scary, destabilizing, frustrating, confusing, and many other feelings that are highly activating. So, how do we know when to keep going? How do we push through all of the discomfort? Why should we? 

To be honest, I ponder these questions quite frequently as I am also navigating the Messy Middle Syndrome. (Please note that this is not a real syndrome, and I simply made it up for this writing, but I have to say, it fits:)

 I think about quitting every day, wondering if maybe I should wash my hands and make things “easy,” make things not so uncomfortable. 

Here's the irony, though: it's called the middle for a reason. Turns out, that where we started and where we are headed become the same distance away. By the time we realize we are in the middle and truly questioning our mental stability for having started in the first place, we are the same distance away from safety, regardless of the path we take. 

It's going to feel uncomfortable to quit, and equally uncomfortable to move forward… So the question becomes: which version of myself do I want to live with? The one that quit, or the one that kept going?

The answer may be that quitting or reverting IS the best option, that maybe you mis-calculated, and the path you chose no longer aligns. By all means, go back to safety; there's growth in every choice!

But the answer may also be to pull up your bootstraps and keep going, keep showing up. You may not have all the answers; hell, you may not even know exactly where you are headed, it may not be tangible. 

Although you might know, in your heart, that there's a version of you on the other side that you NEED to meet. And that shiny version of you, the version that made it through,  is what makes the messy middle worth every single ounce of struggle. 

See you on the other side!!