Is This the Opening You've Waited For?

There is a particular moment in life when the familiar begins to fall away.

The career or job that once defined your days is changing or coming to an end. The children who once needed so much of you need you differently now. A relationship, role, routine, or responsibility that occupied years of your life has shifted.

And suddenly, the road ahead looks… different.

Sometimes that feels liberating.

And, if we’re being totally honest, sometimes it feels terrifying.

And sometimes it feels like both before breakfast.

We’re accustomed to knowing what comes next. There is a schedule, a role, a responsibility, a clear destination. We know what we are supposed to do because, for so long, someone or something has helped define it.

Then one day, you realize:

The familiar is ending.

But that doesn't mean you are ending.

When there is no longer a well-worn path in front of you, it can be tempting to assume you are lost.

Far from it.

Now, there is wide open space. There is room. 

• Room to reconsider what you want.

• Room to discover what interests you.

• Room to try something just because.

• Room to create work, a passion, that fits the life you want to live.

• Room to change your mind.

And yes, that kind of freedom can be overwhelming.

When there are fewer external expectations telling us what to do, the possibilities can feel almost too numerous. We become so accustomed to following someone else’s path that choosing our own direction feels like a much bigger undertaking.

Don't make it one.

Here’s what I’ve learned: You don't have to know the whole route.

You don't even have to choose the destination yet.

You can begin with curiosity. 

This may be one of the greatest privileges of this chapter.

You get to move at your own pace. Maybe you're ready to leap, to hit the gas and go. Maybe you're ready to experiment, to try, to test. 

Maybe you want to spend a season listening and noticing what catches your attention, or building something new, but slowly and thoughtfully.

There is no prize for rushing into the next chapter.

Sometimes growth means a willingness to pause. Becoming more honest about what you want. Sometimes it is finally giving an old dream some oxygen.

The important thing is that the choice is yours.

What if this isn't the end of something?

What if it is the beginning of having more say in what comes next?

More freedom.

More creativity.

More room for the parts of yourself that have been waiting patiently while other priorities took center stage. 

The end of something familiar can bring grief. It can bring uncertainty. It can bring the occasional What the heck am I supposed to do now? Here’s the good news: these feelings and questions are normal.

Think of this time as an extraordinary invitation.

Look around. What's possible now?

You don't have to answer immediately.

You simply have to be willing to look.

Because the road ahead isn’t empty.

It’s wide open.