What If You Are Right Where You Are Supposed to Be?

Consider this: You are exactly at the place you are meant to be at this exact moment in time.

Societal norms, rules, and expectations tell us that we “should” be following a specific pattern in our lives, which in large part revolves around uninterrupted education with the end-goal of solidifying our financial future. Go to school from almost the moment we can talk. Preschool, elementary, middle-school or junior high, high school, college, and then for many, graduate school. Start your career, find a partner--someone you can share your life with, start a family, and so on. White picket fence and all.

This linear track works for some and may go as planned, but for others, many others, it does not. Between all of that, and along that journey, many of us find ourselves wrapped up in the turmoil of life—experiencing the effects of anxiety and depression, trauma, grief and loss, social challenges, addiction, relationship wounds, a struggling child, and so forth. This is not what we envisioned. But here we are.

Rather than lament the road that led us to this point in our lives, one thought is to embrace our own realities thereby dismissing the "perfect" plan we all had for ourselves. By doing this it can, in a way, be liberating and even enlightening. One of the hardest parts is to look around us believing that most people are living a perfectly happy, unaffected, and charmed life. Social media often feeds this notion. Dig a little deeper beneath the surface and almost everyone, if not everyone, is going through something--struggling in some way, or simply searching for meaning in their lives.  Looking for that true purpose and sense of Self.

I often hear parents say, “I can’t believe that I am talking to you about your program for my child”, or “I can’t believe that we are actually at this point.” “Where did we go wrong?” That is the human experience, whether we signed up for it intentionally or not. And sometimes certainly by no fault of our own we have landed where we are. I try to meet those questions and concerns with empathy and compassion--because I too have experienced things in my life that are difficult, and even what I thought were unbearable at times. Would I change many of those things if I had the power? Yes, of course. Would I change the growth and strength that have come to me through those experiences? Never.

When one is immersed in the Finding You experience, whether as a parent, individual adult, or family participating in an Intensive or engaged in our Coaching program; or is quietly doing their own work in other ways - such as watching our webinars, listening to our podcasts, attending support groups, or participating in our psychoeducational workshops - there is no meaningful replacement for going "through" it.

I spend most of my time behind a computer, on the phone, and traveling the country talking to people about Finding You. But I have also had the fortune of participating in these various Finding You offerings and have personally felt and witnessed the power and transformative healing and self-discovery that takes place. Each time I do, I leave feeling more connected to myself and others, rejuvenated, and grateful for the work that we do. I’m amazed at the passion and skill of our clinical team and at the courage and vulnerability of our participants, simply wanting to find themselves and others through these experiences.

So, consider this: We are all off-track, but we are meant to be, and maybe that is actually part of being on-track. We are meant to be at this place, at this point in time right now. We come to know ourselves, our relationships, our wounds--and we find the path to healing and connection more than we ever could without having gone "through" it.