Getting Off The Hamster Wheel Of Life

Are you in a constant state of busy-ness, yet at the same time, it feels like you’re not heading anywhere ? If you are, you’re not alone. With all of us constantly running from one thing to the next, life is whizzing by and we have to run ever faster everyday just to keep up.

It’s no wonder that some of us feel like we’re losing control of our lives. As someone once said to me – “It feels like I’m no longer in control of my life. Instead my life is controlling me. And I quite literally feel like I’m that hamster on the wheel !”.

People who reach this point often describe a feeling of being ‘stuck’ and confused. And with it comes an increasing sense of uncertainty. A questioning of choices made thus far and what lies ahead.

We then have a conscious choice to make. Like that hamster, we can choose to remain ‘stuck’ on that wheel. Draining our energy running faster and faster with no clear sense of direction …..  getting more disoriented until we’re spent and exhausted. Or we can choose to jump off that wheel to regain our bearings. To develop a sense of direction for our lives and get back into the driver’s seat.

Adopting a mindset of enquiry is a good start. For it’s only through asking the right questions that you will get to your tipping point of ‘clarity’ and where forward momentum can begin.

Here are some questions that I’ve asked myself at some point in my life –

• Is this life I’ve created really ‘me’ ….. or do I want something else ?
• What’s really important to me at this stage of my life ?
• What’s missing in my life right now ?

As Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results”. Now Einstein was a pretty smart guy, so he’s probably got a good point there.

So if you feel like a hamster on a wheel, you have a choice to make. Stay on, or stop running and get off.  Get out of your repetitive cycle of busy-ness with no clear direction. Break that cycle of constantly ‘doing’ and get back in touch with who you are and what’s important to you.

Take back the reins of your life and find a way to get the clarity you need to move forward.

As always, wishing you onwards and upwards in your journey …….