We all hit dead ends and fee stuck, but remember nothing in life happens by accident. Every experience will have some value, even if it sucked while you went through it. It contributes to the person you are. But it doesn’t have to stay the way it is. You can make a change.
A dead end, blown out bridge, or other obstacle is often the perfect opportunity to look at other opportunities. Here’s 10 Things to Remember When You Hit a Dead End that helped me, so I’m hoping it will help you too.
1. Frustration Means it’s Time for a Change
We all end up heading down the wrong road at some point in our lives. Sometimes more often than we like. If you’re experiencing frustration, that’s a good thing—it’s a sign that you need to reevaluate where you’re at. And in most circumstances, it means that you’re ripe for change.
2. It’s Never Too Late to Turn Around
I often tell people that it’s never too late to take a right, take a left, or turn around entirely. If you’re heading down the wrong road, take an off ramp, go to a truck stop, and open up a map. The worst thing you could do is continue heading down a wrong road somehow thinking things will change or improve. Instead, turn around. Chance course.
3. You Don’t Need a Complete Plan to Move Forward
Planning is a good thing. Those who don’t, often produce results they’re not happy with. But you don’t have to have everything figured out before you start moving forward again. Sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith—to trust your gut and go for it. Either way, you don’t want to just sit there. Do something—different. Anything—different. Just go for it.
4. Nothing will Change if You Don’t Actually Change
If your life sucks, it’s your fault. That doesn’t mean that other people won’t annoy you or try to hinder your growth, it just means that you’re the one who’s actually in charge. Nobody has any power over you except that which you give them. If you’re unhappy with the way things are, choose to change you.
5. Change Can Feel Like Your Whole Life is Crashing Down
I was recently watching Masters of Sex, the Netflix show about Masters and Johnson, the visionary researchers who changed the world’s scientific understanding of human sexual behavior.
During this particular episode, Dr. Masters is talking about needing to leave the hospital environment so he can continue his study, but at the same time he laments the fact that he’d be leaving a career he’d spent 25 years building.
The African-American physician who ran the hospital that Masters was working at said that making changes can sometimes feel like you’re dying. There’s some real truth to that, but you’ll be just fine. Embrace it.
