Mindblocks (Navigating the In-Between)

When you’re trying to change something, whether that’s a career shift, downsizing, moving to another country, or just navigating a new period in your life, you need things to look forward to along the way. 

These don’t have to be big things, but if they’re not there, any change, even if it’s what you want, can become a bit much. 

For me, this can feel like a sort of melancholy, when my plans for a different future suddenly seem insurmountable.   

I don’t want to stick a label on it necessarily—it doesn’t stop me going about my day-to-day, but it’s there all the same.  It seeps into my bones unbidden, and hangs around for a day or so.

As I get older, I’m more familiar with this feeling in a way I hadn’t been when I was younger, and it’s easy to sink into ‘this is too hard’ way of thinking, which is probably what I would have done in the past. 

Now, as I’ve said in previous posts, changing isn’t easy.  It takes a lot of effort. That’s why the little things can genuinely make all the difference.

It might sound counterintuitive, but I’ve realised that when I’ve got stuff in the diary to look forward to, switch my routine up in some way or just treat myself, it helps me feel more motivated, and mentally in a better place. 

Nothing too dramatic: the odd morning off work to go to a different gym class; a coffee date with a friend or buying a new book.  It’s  whatever gives you pleasure and energises you in some way.

Yesterday, I realised I haven’t been to the cinema for ages, and as the nights draw in, I remembered the luxury of getting totally absorbed in a film for a couple of hours, so booked a ticket. 

And it doesn’t have to cost money because even mixing up your normal routine can give you a tiny boost.  Trying a new recipe for dinner; having a night off TV and soaking in the bath instead; even doing a bit of decluttering.

I know not everything can be changed overnight and that’s an important lesson I’ve learnt the hard way—feeling impatient for change, and making impulsive decisions, some of which I’ve regretted later.   

But, while you’re planning your next move, whatever that looks like, you can still enjoy the ride, and may even find that what you originally wanted to change, isn’t the thing you end up changing after all.