Do you remember, years ago, what you thought life would like at your current age?
Was your vision filled with accomplished dreams, achieved goals, and an overall feeling of happiness?
Did your image look anything like how your life is now or are you still envisioning when that “happiness” will come your way?
It’s impossible to know exactly what your life will look like (and with its twists and turns, it’s anyone’s guess), but our visions of the future help us make goals, work towards achieving them, and simply have the determination to keep going – even when things go in different directions.
However, many of us can find ourselves at a certain age thinking about what we thought our life would look like right now and begin questioning why we aren’t there and “happy” yet.
If you think you’ve become stagnant in your life or, to the opposite, keep running after more and more thinking happiness is around the next achievement, you may be noticing that your quest for inner peace is your new future dream.
Where do I start?
In western culture, when we feel unhappy in our lives the traditional medical establishment can go right to pharmaceutical drugs – particularly anti-depressants in order to put a smile back on our face. And while these medications can be helpful at first and for those with more serious issues, how are they helping others of us find our way through the challenging parts of life in a healthy and enlightened way?
When it comes to rethinking your life in middle age, you may be surprised to know that Colorado Natural Medicine + Acupuncture can help you mentally and physically find your new self and the joy that comes along with it.
At CNMA, we take a holistic approach to finding happiness. This means that we look at everything from your lifestyle, career, past traumas, physical health, mental health, and even the role spirituality plays in your life to asses issues you are currently facing and how to create a peaceful and fulfilling new life for yourself.
It may sound odd to go to a naturopathic doctor to find inner happiness, but that perspective may just be the thing holding you back to finding your best self.
Start with these 3 steps to redefining yourself and your new life:
- Be Honest.
It can be embarrassing, sad, frustrating, and overall depressing to admit that we aren’t where we thought we would be or even want to be in life right now. Everything that has passed us by, that we haven’t done, or now have to do can be difficult to think about.
But we encourage you to do it anyways.
Start by saying out loud – to yourself, in writing, or in a conversation with someone else – what you always thought your life would be like and what it is instead.
Discuss…
– what dreams have went unfulfilled
– what makes you happy in your vision and why you aren’t happy now
– what has hindered you from achieving your goals and can you still go after them
– what fears or worries do you have in changing your current life
These are all questions that can lead to enlightenment of what we still want to accomplish and what may be holding us back. Don’t necessarily try to find answers, but rather look for understanding and compassion.
- Sit With Your Pain.
Sounds pleasant, doesn’t it?
We can spend much unconscious energy trying to hide our emotions and pretend that they don’t exist – whether it’s because we don’t want to show “weakness” or we are maybe afraid once the tears start falling they won’t stop – but it’s time to stop ignoring it.
And yes, it is probably going to be uncomfortable.
Our culture may think that not showing emotion is “weak” but we actually think the opposite. Strength is sitting with your fears, your grief, your sadness, and your pain.
By acknowledging and understanding that it is a part of who you are right now and who you can be in the future, you can learn that it is okay to have sadness. Crying, needing space, and being upset is normal – welcome it and let it out.
Then, use your pain to gain perspective on what is truly important to you and gain wisdom from it to make positive changes.
- Seek Support/Take Action.
Do you find that your life is so busy that it’s hard to find time to think about things and then when you do, your mind is filled with too much to filter?
We find that one of the most beneficial elements in seeking support is to have someone help make sense of it all.
It’s important that you find or create a space (such as our office) that is non-judgmental and has support that will help you identify underlying issues and provide recommendations for future mental and physical well-being.
Discuss what you currently love about yourself, what you are grateful for, what you can build on in a new you. Seek guidance and wisdom to flee from worldly wants and discover inner calm and peace.
Once you’ve realized and accepted that you are not where you want to be, it can be crucial to seek support in how to change your life.
If you have found yourself struggling to find happiness in your current life state and are ready to seek support and take action to make things better, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
If you live in Castle Rock, Castle Pines, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Centennial, Parker, Larkspur, Monument, Colorado Springs, or the Greater Denver Metro area, please call us at (303) 688-6698 or click here to schedule a complimentary 15 minute phone consultation with Dr. Graves.
There is nothing wrong with wanting something different. Let us help you discover what that is and how to go about it.
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