Are you a prisoner of your own life? 3 steps to ... - Your Family Matters

Are you a prisoner of your own life? ?3 steps to freedom!

It?s been an uncomfortable week for me, spending the better part of each day in bed with a back problem, feeling like I?m in prison, both physical and mental. ?I?ve been watching more than my share of TV. This morning I saw a relatively unknown movie, All I Wanna Do.

On the surface, this movie about an all-girls boarding school in the early 1960s is fluff.? But as the story develops, we learn that some of the girls are there because they are rebels, hard to handle, there because their parents didn?t know what else to do. Fluff, fluff, fluff??? And then they learn that, because of financial difficulties, the school will merge with a boy?s prep school.? Our rebels become leaders of a movement to preserve their school?s single-sex status.

The headmistress has told our heroines that with the merger, the girls will slowly but surely become second-class citizens and fade into the shadows.? All their hard work, both academic and in learning to think, speak up and be heard, will be lost in the new, blended school.? (Remember, this is the early ?60s, and even though more women were going to college, many had no intention of using their education.? They were getting married, having children, and supporting their husbands in their careers.? It was still, truly, a man?s world.)

These girls who have been labeled ?troubled? in some way, instinctively know that this place where their parents have ?warehoused? them has been a blessing in disguise.? They will not ?go down without a fight.? They organize the student body and insist that the board of directors hear what they have to say, in the form of a vote on the merger.? The leader first says to the headmistress, ?You gave us a voice.? You can?t take it away.?? Then she says to all the students (paraphrased):

?Some of you think this place is a prison, and being with boys is a good thing.? You will vote for the merger.? Some of you realize that this hasn?t been a prison? it?s the place you found your freedom.? You will vote against it.?

Sorry to spoil it for you, but the majority vote against the merger, the girls take money from their own spending money to give to the school, and a movement is born.

I really want you to think for a moment about the idea that a place or situation can represent a prison or freedom.

When we sent our son to Hyde School, he thought of it as a prison.? To this day (he?s 27 now), he will tell you that he?d rather not talk about it. Even so, he acknowledges that he needed to be there.? He was so out of control that he couldn?t live in our home any more.? And yet, this very place, full of demands and restrictions, was also a place of high expectations and exploration of his potential.? Hyde gave him back to himself, and ultimately his freedom to make productive choices about his life.? (He graduated from Hyde, and college, and is working in the field of his choice? and he is so darn good at it!? He?s also a nice guy to hang out with.)

The parent program at Hyde was a challenging one for me, to say the very least.? And it changed my life, and gave me freedom, too.? I won?t say that I never get stuck in a negative mindset, or have doubts.? I still struggle? and who doesn?t?? But I?m way ahead of where I was.

Where in your life are you ?in prison???? What?s keeping you there?? Is it work, or worry about your children?? Is it in relationships or health?

Whatever it is, what are you going to do about it?? This isn?t about finding a silver lining, or feeling better by comparing yourself to someone who is worse off.? It?s about busting out of prison!? It?s about doing something, anything, to change the unpleasant, or even downright nightmarish, status quo!? It.? Is.? About.? Doing.

Don?t know where to start?

1)??? Baby step or giant step?? I usually suggest that people start small, so they?re not overwhelmed.? Small steps are often the way; however, depending upon the situation, you might have to start really big.? Only you will know for sure.? Your situation may require you to take a life-altering step for you or someone you love. Sometimes it?s the only way.

2)??? Be patient.? Your problem took years to develop.?? It will take time to resolve.? And you will resolve it.

3)??? Ask for help. ?You are not meant to solve all your problems by yourself! And when it comes to problems with kids, I have seen firsthand and with clients how difficult it is to admit to others that your child is off-track.? (Let me assure you:? you are not alone.? More parents than you can imagine are going through the same thing.)? Find someone you trust and tell them about it.? If they can?t help you with a next step, then get help from a professional:? therapist, coach, clergy, and more.? There are many resources out there for you.

You have to decide what your bottom line is.?? Will you tolerate what makes you miserable and be silent, or will you find your voice and do something about it?? The choice is yours.

Source: http://www.yourfamilymatterscoach.com/are-you-a-prisoner-of-your-own-life-3-steps-to-freedom-2/

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