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Do You Feel Like Your Life Is In A Holding Pattern? Like Something Has To Move Before You Can?
This was a prevalent feeling for me during the pandemic lockdowns as it was for many people. My life was in a holding pattern. I was waiting for clearance to land. There are times when you can do nothing but allow for whatever needs to happen to happen. If you try to land before you are cleared you may crash into another plane. There may be an explosion. People might die.
So if you are feeling like you are in a holding pattern it may be because there is traffic beyond your control that is making it necessary for you to wait. And waiting is the correct action.
Other times however we put ourselves in a holding pattern by inventing or imagining obstacles. The runway may be free but we insist it isn’t. We see another plane or scattered baggage or a flock of birds. Perhaps there was a seagull that has since flown away but we insist on waiting to see if it comes back while we burn fuel circling in the air.
The most beneficial thing you can do if you feel like you are stuck in a holding pattern is to recognize what situation you are in. Is there traffic beyond your control that needs to be cleared? Or are you inventing obstacles?
Are you saying things to yourself like:
“I’ll look into getting fit once I make more money.”
“I’ll decide about my career once I know what’s going on with him or her.”
“I’ll start writing my book in the winter when work slows down.”
“I’ll start writing my book in the summer when there is more sunshine.”
“I’ll take dancing lessons once I lose weight.”
“I don’t know if this is the right time to start a blog.”
Statements like this usually indicate that you are turning irrelevant elements into obstacles. You don’t need to have money to get fit. You don’t need a gym. You can start doing body weight exercises at home. I discovered during the pandemic that the world is full of things you can lift: rocks, fallen branches, people (consenting people).
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