Ennui No. Life Yes.
The minute you begin to do what you really want to do, it’s really a different kind of life. Buckmaster Fuller.
Are you somewhere in your middle years, grappling with the issue of personal growth, thinking there must be more to your life than what you see around you right now? Do you sense something is missing?
Just going through the motions? Been there, done that.
Relax, you are not alone. Today, more than ever, many are searching for answers and a deeper meaning for a life that they feel is theirs alone and a lifestyle with a more human dimension. Usually it is an indication that they have stopped growing and that is time to have another look at things.
Growing is a human condition. For many, it is about advancing, moving ahead. They think growth leads to rewards like money, travel, applause and all the good things that make life more fulfilling and interesting. They measure their success by what they have, their possessions, their status in society, their relationships and their accomplishments. That’s good, as far it goes.
But some find they can have all of the above and still not be satisfied. Strangely enough, getting what you want can make you happy, but over time it can also be a trap. Setting and meeting all your goals and objectives can actually inhibit your growth.
How can that happen, you ask? It’s not an uncommon experience. Paradoxically, it can happen when the actual act of achieving all that you set out to get begins to over shadow the reasons you set after them in the first place.
Many are often unaware of it happening until one day the excitement is gone. Boredom and ennui set in and they realize that they are bound up by what is euphemistically called “Golden Handcuffs.”
No longer happy with what they have or where they are, but not unhappy enough, or willing enough, to do something about it, this group is firmly ensconced is their comfort zone, a sure killer of creativity and spontaneity. It’s a place that snuffs out originality, innovation, new ideas and ways of looking at the broader world.
It is one of those forks in the road that we all come to at one time or another. Which road to take next? More importantly, why?
Moving out of a comfort zone isn’t for everybody. To believe there is something more up ahead takes courage, faith in your own abilities and in a greater Universe, but it really is a different life when you decide to listen to your heart, let go of the golden handcuffs and say yes to life.
