Written by: Natalie Johnston, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Create a life worth celebrating. Learn to live in the present, experience life's ups and downs, and find joy in the journey. By adopting a perspective that acknowledges the inevitability of change, you’ll learn to embrace endings as opportunities for growth, leading to a more fulfilled, happy, and aligned life.
Endings. Why is it that when one chapter of our life ends, we look back with rose-tinted glasses? We remember all the great moments, the highlight reel, the laughs, and the fun memories, but we often neglect to remember anything negative, or if we do, we don't focus there for very long.
However, the opposite is true when we're in the moment. We hardly ever focus on the positive. Instead of viewing the world through the same rose-tinted glasses, in the present, we often view the world through foggy glasses. These foggy glasses stop us from seeing the good, but instead, focus and accentuate the negatives.
Why is it? Why do we do this? We always assume a moment is better when it's not in the now, only when it's passed.
Endings and new beginnings are part of life.
Whether it be from leaving school, getting your first job, moving house, or country. If you were to reflect on your life, there would be very apparent and distinct chapters. Take a moment to imagine your life as a book. What would each chapter be called? What do you remember about each?
Like reading any good book, we're always eagerly anticipating what's coming next. We want to flip the pages, get to the end of next chapter, and find out what happens to the characters. We want to know, and we want to know right now!
It's this kind of eagerness to finish a book that we adopt in life. We always look ahead and want to know how each chapter will end before we embark on it.
But unlike reading a book, in life we seem to get sad every time a chapter comes to a close. We cling on to the last page. We grieve what was. We hold on to memories and people. We look back with fondness. We reminisce about what was on every page. We feel the depth of our emotions when it’s time to say goodbye.
The joy of reading the chapter disappears.
After some time, reading the same page of a book, again and again, gets dull. It’s predictable, repetitive, and let's face it, underwhelming.
There are no surprises. You know what’s going to happen, and eventually, the feelings you initially experienced when you first read those pages are no longer present. We don't even remember the significant parts of those chapters or what we felt because we've stayed on the same page for too long.
We struggle to move on, but in fact, endings are healthy. How can you read two chapters at the same time? You can't! You have to finish one before you can start the next.
But instead, we cling on to the safety rope. The fear of what's coming next keeps us stuck. We want to know how the next chapter will turn out before we’re willing to read it. So we stay stuck on the same page of the same book, whether it be for days, weeks, months, or in some cases years. We, humans, have a hard time with endings.
But what if there was nothing to fear? What if the next chapter of the book is already written? What if you viewed it as just an exciting new part of your storyline? No matter what happens, you know that, just like the ending of every good book or film, everything works out.
If we know it works out in the end, why are we scared to flip the page?
Too many of us are afraid to move forward. To not only read the next chapter but to embrace it. To look forward with excitement about reading the new words, enjoying the new backdrops/sets, or perhaps being introduced to new characters. When we hold on way longer than we should, it becomes uncomfortable, unsatisfying, and unfulfilling.
Your life is your book! Each part is meant to have an ending, which is in fact a new beginning. Think of every time in your life when a change was about to happen, think about how you felt then and how you feel now. Isn't it funny how things always work out? You enjoy the next chapter just as much as the previous one, but perhaps in a different way.
This is what living an aligned life is. It's enjoying the now. It's soaking up the present moment because that's all we've got.
If you put your happiness in the future or the past, you aren’t experiencing it now.
We all need to be happy right now, and it starts with embracing endings as new beginnings. Viewing the future as the next exciting chapters in our books, we’re just yet to read them.
Enjoy reading every page because when you get to the end of the book, you'll look back and talk about all the exciting twists and turns that happened along the way. Because that's what these moments are, plot twists. How boring would a book or movie be with no storyline? Even when something 'awful' is happening to us, it's always for a reason and it's to take you on to your next chapter as a bigger, better, and stronger version of yourself.
If your life is a book and everything always ends well. How would that change who you are today? How would that change how you deal with endings and beginnings? How would it change you and your perspective?
Don't just be a passive reader of your book. Live it. Experience it. Love it. Feel every emotion, the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, experience love, and heartbreak, travel, meet new people, hear new stories, spend time with those you love, do things you love, that light your soul on fire, and that make you smile from ear to ear.
Make your book the best damn book you've ever read. So that when you get to the end, it's a book that will make the best sellers list! Just remember there is nothing to fear, endings are really just new beginning.
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Natalie Johnston, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Natalie Johnston is Founder of TTM Coaching. Natalie is an accredited coach, BA graduate, speaker and experienced marketeer. She has spent her working career in Scotland, North America, and London. TTM Coaching was born from her belief that we can all become the best version of ourselves and when we do the work on the inside, the impact is felt on the outside, creating the ‘ripple effect’ of positive change. Fuelled by her desire to ensure the workplace, of which we rely on to meet so many of our physical and psychological human needs, is a place where individuals can grow and thrive. Natalie dedicates her time to working with individuals and organisations to unlock their full potential.
