Identifying the Blocks In Your Life

Whenever asked if my husband and I would someday be moving back up to Northern Virginia once he finishes grad-school, my answer has just about always been a resounding “no”. I would start to list of a number of reasons for why such as the high cost of traffic and living but in my heart I knew there was a third underlying reason…

I knew this because whenever the topic was broached about moving back up to Northern Virginia I would do one of two things": shut down or become agitated. For the longest time I wasn’t able to figure out why I was responding this way until one evening recently. My husband and I were in the living room and the topic came up once again. As I went back to my reading, I looked up a few minutes later and reflected about the “block” behind not wanting to move back.

I explained that while I had many happy memories of time spent with family and friends, I also had many sad ones. Another fear was how we might change if we moved back up. We have become so incredibly close these past few years, I worried about the affect that the fast-pace of life might have on our relationship. These two “blocks” were undoubtedly rooted in fear.

After vocalizing these blocks, I felt such peace… as if someone had lifted a weight off of my chest and I could now breathe. I was still hesitant about moving back up to Northern Virginia but I felt encouraged that no matter where we live, our love and values won’t change. It was apart of God’s plan for the two of us to meet in Northern Virginia, to fall in love and then eventually move down to Williamsburg. He most certainly has a plan for wherever we will be next. By identifying my fears and then surrendering them to Him, I’ve been able to shed what is not serving me and experience freedom. Instead of viewing life through a lens of fear, I’m looking at life with possibility and opportunity.

How we address the blocks in our life is everything. When we meet them with resistance, as I initially did, we'll only continue to be stuck. The issue will not go away but continue to surface again and again, in a variety of forms. By contrast, when we meet the blocks in our lives with reflection and gratitude, we are able to heal and open ourselves up to endless possibilities of freedom and growth.

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE “BLOCKS” IN YOUR LIFE

A block is anything that is in your life that is rooted in fear and that is holding you up from experiencing true freedom and peace.  While we may be aware that there is an issue that needs to be addressed, we often have a hard time identifying what that issue, or block really is.  As human beings, we are generally operating from a place of love or a place of fear.  When we are operating from a place of fear, we are blocking things from opening up and are producing negative energy, whereas, when we are operating from a place of love, we are making room for abundance, spaciousness, freedom, and blossoming; producing a positive energy.  It's all about how we open up to what is presented in life.  While there is a lot that we don't have control of in this world, what we do have control of is how we respond, react and perceive what's presented to us.  When we meet challenging situations with openess and gratitude, we have the potential to turn the situation into something amazing.

HOW TO WORK THROUGH THE “BLOCKS”

REFLECT

• You won't be able to identify your blocks if your always on the go or distracting yourself, so make sure to take some time to slow down, be still, and just be.

JOURNAL

• Getting our thoughts out of our head and down onto paper is huge. Keeping a daily or weekly journal is a great way to check-in with yourself. You may start writing about one thing and end up writing about what's really going on in your heart.

GO DEEPER

• Often with blocks we'll identify reasons for why we feel a certain way however these reasons don't bring peace - they don't necessarily get to the root of things. Encourage yourself to go deeper. Continue to reflect and journal, as you identify the blocks in your life. It can also be beneficial to seek professional counseling, as they are trained to assist with this.