Is Your Life Stuck in the Twilight Zone? Here’s How To Get Out

Submitted for your approval...the way to thrive through change.

Dear Diary,

I feel like I’m in a never-ending episode of The Twilight Zone.

I keep expecting Rod Serling to walk into my office and say to the camera:

“This is what the state of discombobulation looks like.

Meet Mr. Paul Long. A man at a point in life when most assume he would be retiring to a life of ease.

“Instead, our subject is doing anything but…and that’s the rub.

“For Mr. Long is going through the roller coaster of emotions, thoughts, doubts, hopes and challenges that come with making an aspirational change in life.

“One would think by now he’d be in the flow of his aspirations.

“But think again, because unbeknownst to him, Mr. Long is still living in a recurring episode of the Twilight Zone.”

?Do-Do-Do-Do. Do-Do-Do-Do.

Is this a rerun or a remake?

I wrote this 15 months ago, and the episode continues.

It’s like the one with Dennis Weaver, who is a convicted killer and he keeps living through the trial and execution over and over and over again.

Coming into this major transition, I knew it would be weird, wacky, and wild because my previous ones had been that way.

While I am happy and relieved to have moved on from my previous situation and excited about my new one, the weird, wacky and wild range of emotions, thoughts and frustrations seem to lead me to one plot twist after another.

I knew this would happen because I’ve gone through it several times before.

I thought it would be over by now, but it’s not.

It’s a recurring episode.

I thought I would be out of it by now and instead starring in my own TV show.

But here I sit, still stuck in launch mode and making progress in baby steps.

As astronaut Alan Shepard said while sitting in a Mercury capsule while waiting through hours of delays to become the first American in space,

“Why don't you fix your little problem and light this candle?”

Yeah, Paul. Fix your little problem and light this candle.

So dear viewer, I share my Twilight Zone experience with you to help forestall your own recurring episode.

Know that it can happen and that’s just the way it is (and it’s really not that bad).

But also know you can do better than I.

First step, give yourself a break.

I have had to learn to accept this and give myself a break and some credit.

After all, I am coming down from 35 years of “pedal to the metal” and in a different type of business.

I’m still fighting and overcoming habitual thinking from those 35 years.

All of us develop automatic thoughts and reactions, and some (if not many) of those no longer apply and they can block us from succeeding at something new.

There’s the unknown and uncertainty that fuels resistance to change.

I fully expected my life to be like a Twilight Zone episode, and I even expected it to be weirder and harder than I could ever imagine.

I need to give myself a break, accept it, get past it and light the candle.

Let’s get on with it

Going through all of this is but a small price to pay for the return on investment I will receive.

I remind myself that this is how it works. Beyond ingrained auto-thinking, the human brain is programmed to resist change as a survival method.

Based on my life to date, I have established untold numbers of neural pathways that have been prominent in my thinking.

The new pathways I am creating are in conflict with the old ones.

But I will keep building them until they’re fully established and take over.

Of course, this puts you and me right in the middle of the Twilight Zone.

It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.

It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge.

This is the dimension of imagination.

It is an area that we call the Twilight Zone.

Yep.

How to survive and thrive

So, what will I do about it, and what can you do about it?

Here’s my list.

1.???? Roll with it – This is to be expected, so expect it. It’s a natural and necessary process. Avoid getting uptight, anxious and worried. Go with the flow and listen to your mind and body.

2.???? Manage expectations – I was ready to hit the ground running and rock and roll with New Way Forward once I cut ties with my business clients. But sometimes you just need a break and a bit of chill, adjustment and regroup time. Again, for you and me it’s listening to our mind and body. If it’s something you and I really want, the time will come to launch and we’ll be better ready for it.

3.???? Keep an eye on the prize – To avoid turning into a slug, I keep envisioning and feeling the results I am seeking. What will it be like? Most importantly, what will it feel like? Why must I pursue it and why must I achieve it?

Keeping those answers constantly in your consciousness is fuel for your fire.

4.???? Notice and be open-minded – Clarity will start occurring with abundance. You’re getting out of the trees to see the forest. Some realizations have been regrets (“Why didn’t I do this sooner?”), some have been uh-ohs (“This is harder than I thought”) and some have been borderline epiphanies. I need to notice, be open and give them the attention they deserve.

5.???? Know that it will all work out – Even when it’s been something catastrophic and not of my choice, it all worked out in the long run. What is abnormal now will be the new normal shortly and a better normal.

That’s it, Dear Diary. I feel better already. I’m going to take a walk and get back to it while Mr. Serling delivers his final line.

“Submitted for your approval. Portrait of a man escaping the daily water torture of convention and mediocrity and paying the price.

“A man determined to live outside of the box marked default and instead seek his own definition of expression, fulfillment and purpose while having a positive influence on a few other lives along the way.

“A man on a never-ending journey of discovery who is just now leaving the Twilight Zone.”

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