Thresholds

All too often these days, I find myself wishing I could go back.  Back to the days when my boys were young, and needed me more, and weren't about to go off into the world.  Back to a time when my dad was still here, telling hilarious stories and driving us all crazy.  Back to when my grandpa and uncle were healthy, and we camped and played card games, instead of sitting quietly and waiting.

In my mind, I know that I can't go back.  But in my heart, I've been spending too much time there.

So when I saw the title of Sherre Hirsch's latest book, Thresholds:  How To Thrive Through Life's Transitions To Live Fearlessly And Regret-Free, I knew it was something I needed to read.

Sherre's premise is that we all have many thresholds in our life, those times of transition when we are moving from what we know to something new.  Some of the thresholds are exciting, like marriage, and some are painful, like the death of a parent.  But no matter what, we have to move forward.  We can't go back.

She talks a lot about the F word - fear.  Most of our fears take root in our minds, based on something we imagine might happen.  We also overestimate the consequences of our fears coming true.  Reality is rarely as bad as we think it will be, and most of us can cope - we are braver than we give ourselves credit for.

"How do we accept that we cannot go back?  How do we move forward when all we want to do is move backward?  How do we find the courage to believe there is another room in front of us if we move toward it?"

Sherre writes about developing a broader scope of vision, in order to see all the possibilities before us.  There are always other ways and paths, and by looking forward, we can see the options.  We have to leave our comfort zone to try something new.  By using all the experiences, wisdom and knowledge we have amassed up to this point, we can propel ourselves forward across each new threshold.

I really enjoyed this book.  It is clearly written, and Ms. Hirsch weaves lots of personal stories into each chapter to illustrate her points.  While it didn't provide a step by step approach to moving forward, it helped me positively shift my perspective on how I look at my upcoming challenges.  And reminded me that I have to stop living in the past.

"When we wish to re-create the past, we are wishing to go back to a place that no longer exists.  What was past has changed, and we have changed."

I know.  I know.  But why does it have to be so hard? 

Disclaimer:  I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.