This human thing I am writing and thinking about it – it is common, but rarely named. I don’t have a tidy label for it, but you may recognize it within the following questions:
- Why am I now resisting the very opportunity I have been wishing for?
- Why when I get where I wanted to be, do I feel afraid?
- Who would I be if I actually get what I want or where I want to be?
In his article “Lessons From a Traffic Light”, psychotherapist Hans R. Agrawal illustrates with compassion – and a bit of bemused wonder – why we cling so tightly to habits, thoughts, relationships, jobs, locations etc. which keep us entrenched in discontent and frustration. He helps his readers understand the power in CERTAINTY, the comfort in FAMILIARITY. He explains why it feels like such a risk to let go of parts of ourselves we have always known; why we choose to remain engaged in undesired parts of our lives with all its “known and familiar dangers”, rather than to “cast our lots with an uncertain world of new possibilities”.
After reading this article, you may afford yourself a bit more compassion in realizing you are not alone in feeling terrified of that fresh Walk Sign welcoming you effortlessly across new roads.