Life Changes: Are You Just Treading Water?


A few weeks ago I was frustrated with a situation in my life that I have struggled with for years. It involves something that I want to change but haven’t.

I have made many attempts to move forward in this part of my life, but I felt stuck. I was taking action but getting nowhere. I felt like I was treading water.

Have you ever felt this way?

Think of a problem situation in your life as a large lake. You don’t want to be in the water anymore. You want to swim your way to shore. You want to resolve the issue and make things better. You want to be on dry land with the bad situation behind you.

This situation that you are swimming in could be a:

  • financial problem
  • negative relationship
  • troubling work situation
  • family issue
  • spiritual conflict

Maybe you’re “swimming” in a personality trait or lifestyle issue that you want to change or improve.

Many people do not make positive changes until they are in a crisis, until they are drowning. But what happens when you are just treading water?

“Treading water” in a negative situation can be the point when you recognize something is your life needs to change but you don’t know to change it.

It can also be the point where you know how to change a situation for the better, but you haven’t taken  action.

Someone close to you might see you struggling with an issue and offer advice or support, but you turn down their help. Choosing to “stay in the water” instead of getting in your friend’s lifeboat will not help you resolve your problem.

You might have a good reason for not accepting help. Or it might just be your pride. Are you on the verge of drowning in a tough situation simply because you refuse to ask for or accept help?

Treading water can also be the time you spend taking small actions or quitting before you see positive results. To be honest, this is the situation I am in. Some days I feel stuck. Some days I feel like I’m going through the motions but not moving forward.

Take a few minutes to think about the parts of your life where you are drowning, treading water or swimming to shore.

Also think about the situations in your past that you thought you’d never get out of, but now you are on dry land. How can you apply what you learned from those situations to your current problem?

Life is change.

Haven’t you spend enough time and energy on that negative situation? Once you resolve this issue you can spend more time on the positive parts of your life.

Stop treading water. It’s time to swim to shore, dry off and move on.

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