Are you in a state of FREEZE? And you feel:
Terrible. Overwhelmed. Uncertain. Fearful. Anxious. Indecision.
Want to get out of it BUT…
Can’t.
You tried talking to friends.
Family.
Manager. Co-workers.
Mentors.
Everyone.
Maybe you’ve even tried coaching.
Nobody was able to help you get out of your current state.
Maybe now we add to the above list:
Frustrated. Angry. Depressed.
Wondering what’s wrong with me?
Wondering why you can’t get out of this?
A smart, hard working, ambitious individual. Previously able to handle everything that life threw at you. Including the curve balls. You rolled with the punches, got up and kept going. Finding answers. Still moving forward.
And then….
DEAD STOP.
WTH.
I meet many clients in a state of DEAD STOP. A state of FREEZE. We coach to expose the root causes, but they are still locked in a FROZEN state.
And yet they still yearn for action. Something to do!
Our action-oriented culture has trained us that we can DO something about anything! And it SUCKS to not be able to take action, which makes us feel…HELPLESS. INEFFECTIVE. UNABLE. INCAPABLE.
Let me say that DOING NOTHING is DOING SOMETHING!
Yes, you just sitting there is taking ACTION! Your system is telling you that SITTING RIGHT THERE is the right thing to do.
If you are in a state of FREEZE, then let me propose some things to consider even if you think you can’t take action:
INTERNAL ACTIONS ARE VALID
Our society has programmed us into thinking that DOING always means some sort of external, physical action. Taking internal actions are also DOING! That means things like reflection, mindfulness, meditation, being quiet, and more.
SIT WITH YOUR FEELINGS
Try this. Get comfortable. Take some deep breaths and get real quiet. Then take some time to reflect on your FREEZE. How do you feel about it? Name those feelings! Let them float around in your consciousness. Sit with the discomfort. Let it rise, let it roll around inside you, and then let it dissipate. Breathe!
You are changing your response to the discomfort and FREEZE to calm detachment!
EXPRESS!
Try expressing what is going on inside. It could be written, like journaling. It could be vocal – how about expressing it to a trusted person? Or have you tried shouting your feelings to the world? See what happens when you do!
You are releasing that pent up FREEZING energy inside you!
EXERCISE PATIENCE
In our culture, we want everything yesterday. Where does one subscribe to the Amazon Prime of GET ME UNSTUCK? And yes, it would be nice to get out of your FREEZE right now!
Your FREEZE could be related to TIMING. That at this moment, the time is not right for you to move anywhere.
We can never predict the future. Your answer may show up in the near future at any time. Being OK with patience and the timing needs of our system.
If you’re in a state of FREEZE, what if you were to try the above? What do you think would happen? Drop some comments if you do!
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