Practicing Honesty
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“The middle is messy, but it’s also where the magic happens.” - Brené Brown
Have you ever felt like your days were blending together masked by a dense fog? You wake up and go about your day, but it feels like you aren’t really awake yet. Maybe the feeling is more like a discomfort growing that you can’t shake off. Either way, you feel like life is dragging on even when the days are flying past. If you resonate with any of these feelings you may have experienced, or are currently experiencing, a funk.
I know I’m in a major funk right now.
After living in a suitcase for over a month and pushing my discomfort zone to its limits I feel like I’m in limbo. I’m not quite ready to question what’s next, but also not ready to stay in one place. I’m somewhere in the middle and, as Brené Brown says in Rising Strong, “The middle is messy, but it’s also where the magic happens.” If there’s any magic here, it is not the glitter and sparkles kind because at the core of this funk is resistance and transformation.
Change isn’t always pretty. The days are growing longer and warmer. Buds are blooming. There’s beauty in the changing seasons, but not all transformations feel as pretty as they appear. Despite how ugly and painful this season of my life appears to me, I am trying to keep my head high and feet grounded, choosing to question what I can gain from this rut instead of wallowing in my feelings.
Whatever season of life you’re in, regardless of how messy it looks, I wish you the courage to embrace where you are now and ask,
“What lesson can I learn from this experience?”
The lesson I’m realizing is that this fog of a funk is a break, a chance to slow down and embrace the unknown so when it clears I have clarity. Sometimes only in the dark and emptiness can you find the answers you need, but can you be still and quiet enough to hear the answers? Can you also be honest enough to face the questions you’ve been drowning out?
Honesty is a catalyst for transformation. Dare yourself to ask if you’re being truly honest with yourself. No one needs to know the answer but you. Even if your gut reaction is to scoff and say, “Of course I’m honest with myself,” ask anyway because what do you have to lose?
If you’re ready, take a moment to get still and quiet. You might close your eyes and take a breath before asking, “Am I being honest with myself?” Give yourself time and space to see what comes up. Observe your thoughts without judgment until you find silence. Journal about your experience or go about your day, but if you arrived to the conclusion you could be more honest with yourself, or others, then think of one small way you can practice honesty. One small intentional action or choice towards honesty can lead to another and another and, in the process, you might find your existence shifting and changing. Maybe you even find beauty in the transformation.
I can’t say I see the beauty in my own transformation yet, but my headspace and heart space are clearer when I practice honesty. Acknowledging my resistance to and avoidance of whatever I’m processing right now gives me the energy to be okay with not knowing and dance with the endless possibilities of what might come next.
If you’re going through something hard or feel stuck in a funk, I wish you the same grace honesty has given me and I’m sending virtual hugs. Want to keep the conversation going on funks and honesty, or need to chat privately? Drop a comment below, send me an email, or book a free 30-minute discovery call.
P.S. Thanks for sticking with me friends. I appreciate you.
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Resources Mentioned
Brené Brown - Rising Strong