PISSING AGAINST THE WIND:

You must accept where you are.......to be able to get where you want to go.

February 2010.

I was still fighting & trying to fix things & improve my situation. I didn't want to accept the enormity & futility of my reality. My chronic stress levels were sky high, my mental & physical weel-being was at a critical stage. I felt totally drained, my chest & stomach seemed to be tied up in knots all the time. I felt nauseated & lethargic most of the time. I was trying to push through the pain, to sort it all out. But it kept getting worse & I was now in the early stages of depression & burn out. The writing was on the wall.

That morning in February 2010, I realised I was on a fragile foundation. When something is wrong we fight harder & dig deeper, we press on. I needed to look at it differently.

I stopped resisting it & trying to fight it alone. That mindset was not working for me. I was tired but still alive. I had to slow down & accept where I was. I reached out for professional help.

Moving forward requires acceptance. Progress in anything requires recognising, accepting & starting where you are. Not where you want to be, not where you think you should be, not where others think you should be, but where you are. Acceptance is not giving up. It's taking stock of a situation & seeing it clearly for what it is. Whether you like it or not. Stop fighting & ignoring reality & wanting things to be different. I had to acknowledge & accept what had happened to me, even though I couldn't bare to deal with it. I couldn't hide from it either.

This was the first step for me in my recovery. Only after I acknowledged & accepted the situation & circumstances I found myself in, (which I had fought so hard not to accept) could I then start to take actions that would improve my situation. It's impossible to work on something in a meaningful way if you are also fighting it & refusing to accept that it's happening in the first place.

We attempt to deal with the big challenges in our lives without realising, accepting & addressing their real causes & effects. You need to be with your reality where it is. You need to be present & accepting as you strive. Not just for the highs & the positives, but for the lows & the negatives aswell. That's when you can take wise action to bring about the change that you desire. Resisting reality does not work. With acceptance you learn how to confront & overcome your challenges by taking strong effective actions.

When you accept what is happening & open yourself up to it & feel it deeply.

Instead of fighting it or running away you start to take productive action. You allow yourself to feel the loss & pain & discomfort & sadness & jealousy &

all the emotions you're feeling. You learn to see it clearly & accept it. You then move in the direction of your values & what's important to you & what you have control over. You begin to observe your situation without feeling like you are trapped in it. Then you take action.

Remember, acceptance opens the door to growth & empowers you to navigate through any storm. By shifting your focus towards your values & what you have control over, you are not hiding or denying your challenges.

Take intentional steps towards resolving the situation while staying through to your principles. You let go of resistance & the need to control every outcome, which reduces stress & anxiety.

Acceptance helps you become more felxible & adaptable, allowing you to navigate change with greater ease. You begin to make decisions with clear & objective thinking, free from resistance or denial. It brings inner peace & contentment as you learn to ride the wave of life's uncertainties & challenges.

It's about understanding & embracing what is & using that to make the best choices moving forward.

"Acceptance is the key that unlocks the door to inner peace & personal growth."

#AcceptanceIsKey #TakeControl #Coaching #EmbraceDifficulties #Change

Picture from High above the Clouds on the Twelve Bens, Connemara.