Let’s be honest, there’s nothing worse than feeling behind in life.

Behind in living the partnership or family life we’re dreaming of, behind in accomplishing our professional dreams and goals, behind in finally daring what we always wanted to do. 

It’s a really dreadful feeling.

But it’s also a really natural feeling.

Whenever we have a dream, whenever we want to accomplish something, whenever we attach our heart to something that’s not yet in our lives, we will at some point feel behind. Especially when it takes some time.

So if this feeling is almost inevitable, then shouldn’t we be better prepared for it?

I believe yes.

Someone should tell us please, how to solve this feeling-behind-in-life-puzzle!

But to date, no one has handed me a magic formula.

So I had to rely on the good old trial-and-error formula to work things out over the years.

And maybe my approach will work for you as well.

Worth a try, I would say.

The first piece of the puzzle: going up or going down?

This feeling of being behind can really pull us down. Sometimes even to rock bottom.

It can make us feel excluded, not good enough, like a looser, like good things only happen to others, like being in the wrong movie and not having a clue how to leave the screening.

It can.

But it can also show up in a different way.

It can show up as a fuel for our fighting spirit, for our determination, for our resilience and for our indestructible faith. 

So feeling behind can go both ways, downwards or upwards.

And what determines the direction is our conscious choice.

Yes, that’s right.

We’re the one pressing the button: up or down.

And when faced with only these two choices, I don’t have to think very long which one to press.

That’s the beauty about not having too many options.

The main piece of the puzzle: taking action on our way up  

So making a conscious choice for our fighting spirit, for our determination and resilience, and for our faith and optimism is the first piece in solving the puzzle.

The second, and most important piece, is taking action.

It’s not enough to reach for higher, more positive thought. Even if this alone will already bring an instant relief.

But what we want is not only instant relief, we want a solid roadmap how to leave this feeling far behind us, for good. 

And this works best through taking action.

The right actions.

I’m not talking about stubbornly pushing a specific topic into a certain direction, or trying to force an outcome.

I’m talking about a softer approach.

A wiser approach.

To zoom out and make a really good and objective assessment of our current life moment.

Of all that is happening. Of all that is essential to us.

And also an assessment in which direction we want to move our life as a whole, not just in one area.

If we do so, we’ll discover that there’re areas where we instantly can take action to get things moving.

And we’ll discover that there might be areas where we need to back off a little. Where we need to stop forcing and stop pushing.

After doing this very holistic life assessment, and after seeing black on white that we can start to get into action and start moving at any given moment, we’ll realize and experience that every moment bears the opportunity to shape and design our future.

And through this, our life will naturally gain speed. And we’ll start to overtake one negative feeling after the other. 

And before we even realize, this feeling of being behind in life will be nothing else than a blurred silhouette in our rear mirror.

I promise.

So keep going, dear Life Designer, you’re on the right path to designing a life you truly love.