I was down in a depressive funk for the last few weeks. It tends to happen each year as approach my birthday. This year wasn’t an exception. 
I was walking in the morning. Walking in the sunlight is a prescription for the funk. As I walked I prayed. I was asking for a way out. I received an answer.
“Stop looking for a way out. Look for a way in.”
Looking for a way out isn’t about finding something new. It’s about leaving something old. You’re not going anywhere. You’re leaving somewhere.
Do you want an MBA or do you want out of your current job? Do you want a healthy relationship with that woman or do you want to just not feel lonely? Do you want to be with that guy or are you wanting to feel wanted since your husband seems to care more about his work. Do you want that promotion or do you just want to feel more meaningful and significant?
When we try to get out of situations, we just find ourselves in another situation we want to escape … if we’re lucky.
Often, when we want out, our effort is scatter shot. A blind pivoting swirl of bullets … shooting for anywhere but here. Maybe this will work, maybe that will work. No commitment toward something. Just a desire to not be where you are. The lack of focus leaves us tired and frustrated. And in the same place.
Deciding to get in to something requires focus. The focus requires commitment. Together they stand a chance to get you in the door that you want in to. You might not like it when you get there. That’s ok. You can get in to something else. But get in first. Stop trying to get out.
I realized that instead of trying to get out of a depression, maybe I need to start getting in to joy. Since that walk, I find myself in the place I want to be. It’s beat the place I wanted out of.
Where are you stuck. What are you going to get in to? It’s time to get out through the in door.
Related articles
- Perfect is a myth… A simple way to overcome it (ericwarheit.com)
- Good Leaders Acknowledge What Can’t Be Done (blogs.hbr.org)
- Move It! How to Exercise When You’re Depressed (livescience.com)
