I encourage you to contemplate the following statement:
Stagnation is your worst enemy.
Stagnation is a perpetual state of being stuck where you are, spinning your wheels in the same thoughts, feelings, and actions over and over and over. On an outer level, we repeatedly partake in the same behaviors, routines, habits, and choices every single day. On an inner level, we harbor the same judgments, think the same thoughts, and react to the same feelings year after year.
In many ancient spiritual traditions, it is said that the vast majority of us tend to live this way. These traditions assert that stagnation is synonymous with suffering. What maintains this cycle is a lack of awareness; we just don't see how we are re-enacting the same reality time and again. The deeper beliefs that we cling to about who we are and how life is linger on a subconscious level so we never see with true clarity the degree to which we have succumbed to stagnation.
What I have noticed in my own life and having worked with many clients and patients is that awareness is about 90% of the path to freedom from stagnation. We have to be willing to see what is actually running us, what our motivations are. This takes a certain level of courage and honesty. The other crucial piece of the puzzle is intention. We have to choose to step out of stagnation by setting intentions to live in a new way. In a sense, this is like reinventing who we are.
This is exactly what eustress, which is positive, life-affirming stress, is. It is the process of creating a new, more expansive reality that blows away any previous beliefs or behaviors that promoted stagnation. Stagnation is what makes us sick, both physically or mentally. Stagnation and a lack of awareness is the core cause of distress, which leads to all kinds of problems and dramas. When we succumb to stagnation, we will search outside of ourselves for something to spice things up, entertain us, and take the edge off. In this way, we actually choose distress because it is familiar and it makes us feel a distorted kind of safety.
What I am suggesting is that you can actually choose to step out of stagnation right now. My new book The Purpose Principle is a step-by-step guide to help you do exactly this. I would start by shaking up your routine. Try new things. Engage in new behaviors. Stop putting off what is most important to you. Even more importantly, start looking very closely at the nature of your mind. Examine your thoughts and feelings throughout the day, almost as if you are an outside observer, and notice to what extent your mind is playing out the same old storylines over and over. Just pay attention to this on a regular basis. This is a great first step toward evolving out of stagnation.
Kevin Doherty is a licensed acupuncturist, life and business coach, and the author of The Purpose Principle: 11 Strategies to Help You Experience Ultimate Freedom in Your Health, Wealth, and Love Life. To get a free copy of Kevin's Purpose Principle ezine and to learn more about the book, go to http://www.PurposePrinciple.com
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