They’re brutal, those stressful life events. Getting married, financial woes, starting a new job, significant others exiting your life. Oh, and moving – which I just did. Dang, the personal insights that scream for my attention. Guess it’s time to get to work…
The volume and frequency of the screams were sufficient to convince me to give them my attention. And productive endeavors always come down to personal choice.
Two weeks into the process, I’m in my new digs. But there’s still a lot of work to do – on numerous fronts.
The important, the good, the right – the move
To keep this piece from coming off like a self-piteous whine session, you need to know I really wanted to move – 350 miles, out-of-state, U-Haul, solo. See, I promised my daughter and grandchildren I’d relocate to their neck of the woods within a year after turning 65. And by a matter of days, I pulled it off – commitment kept.
But just because something’s important, good, and right doesn’t mean there aren’t great difficulties – challenges – before, during, and after. And, of course, so it goes with this life event.
It’s my belief that we all can become a little lazy when it comes to discovering and addressing our emotional and mental eccentricities and vulnerabilities. And sometimes the screaming for attention of personal insights will only occur in the midst of a stressful life event.
So we have to strike while the iron’s hot.
Those 9 personal insights
“Man, those screaming personal insights really do deserve my attention.”
In the weeks leading up to the move, during, and now, I’ve heard and felt the screaming of personal insights. Simply, it’s the detection of thoughts, feelings, and behavior that don’t make a lot of sense and generate conflict and discomfort.
The volume and frequency of the screams were sufficient to convince me to give them my attention. And productive endeavors always come down to personal choice.
Now, completely resolving each of the following – and I’m sure I could come up with more – isn’t necessarily the immediate goal. I say it time and again: the first step toward ultimate resolution is the identification and acknowledgement of issues. And we’re often surprised as to how much relief we experience just by doing that.
Okay, that screaming personal insight…
- A project has to be completed now. It’s silly and impossible, but there I was thinking the entire move had to be wrapped-up right now.
- In completing a project, there’s no time for breaks. And working from getting out of bed to hitting the sack is no big deal. After all, the project has to be completed now. Funny, when I was a boy my grandmother said I went at everything like I was trying to kill a snake. She was right – still is.
- Clutter and disorganization can’t be tolerated. In my case it makes for a ridiculous rush job because, for instance, I won’t “destroy” the bookshelves – living area ambiance – by boxing-up the books until the very last minute.
- Change is threatening and difficult. Sure, it’s often good and necessary, but specific types of change, like moving, can sock me in the gut.
- I need a reliable and comfortable home. Without one, I’m pretty much lost and out of it.
- Doing what I want to do when I want to do it, including being alone, is a must at all times.
- If I’m not getting enough, or quality, sleep, I’m in for some nasty anxiety and mood symptoms. There are no exceptions.
- Having to complete projects now, working long hours with very few breaks, leads to overstimulation. And overstimulation doesn’t bring me or others my best self. Yet, I’ll continue to work like a fool.
- I have this uncanny knack of attaching current stressful events to similar ones in the past. And it can become sadly overwhelming. Several times during this move I felt the spirit of a traumatic family move when I was 14. I fought the feelings – but why?
Whacky stuff, right? But the fact is, I really want to work through them – their accuracy and necessity in my life.
By the way, did any of them ring a bell? And it doesn’t have to have been within the context of a move.
Time to move on
Yep, they’re brutal, those stressful life events. But knowing we can learn so much about ourselves as we navigate through them can provide tons of motivation and inspiration.
Do you have personal insights that are screaming for your attention? Make the decision to answer the call and put some work in. I mean, you can’t just ignore them.
Believe me, they’re not going to – poof – up and leave.
Hey, if you’re looking to get into more personal insight, perusing hundreds of Chipur titles will get you there.
