The Missing Piece

“Something is missing” is a sensation that is often more subtle than obvious.
One may not notice a cloud slowly floating across the sky, until suddenly, it feels chilly outside. The sunshine, mostly taken for granted, is suddenly missing.

There are times when it’s difficult to tell what exactly is missing in a situation.

You may feel like something is missing when
– your job starts feeling more like a chore rather than a calling, and it’s a change for you
– you don’t want to connect with people whose company you used to enjoy
– you start feeling like you can do something bigger and more meaningful than what you’re currently doing, but can’t put your finger on what’s missing from what you’re currently doing

You just know that something is missing, you feel the missing piece with all of your senses, and you are fairly sure that the puzzle pieces at hand won’t complete the whole picture.

So, how do you start figuring out what’s missing?

There’s no simple answer.

There’s this, though: don’t ignore the feeling of “something is missing”. Don’t dismiss it by telling yourself that you shouldn’t be chasing rainbows, or that you should be satisfied with the way things are.

Instead, explore.

There’s no guarantee that if or when you find that missing piece, your life will be better. It will certainly be different, though.

When you feel that something is missing, the message that you’re getting is this: you need/want a change.

If you already know what you want to change, you can make it happen by using some ideas from here: What to Do When You Need a Change. If you’re not sure what you want to change, and if you’re not sure what your missing piece is, here are two things you can start with:

– Dream and embody. Allow yourself to imagine better situations and outcomes, and try these dreams on with all of your senses. Eventually, you’ll figure out how to turn dreams into a vision, and a vision into a plan, and the next thing you know, you’ll end up in a completely different story. Allowing yourself to dream rather than pretending that nothing is missing, and allowing a possibility of a more complete experience is the first step.

– Mindfully place your attention on what is truly important to you. Do so regularly, above other things. You don’t need to problem-solve right away. You don’t need intense focus, so it’s ok to use a soft-focus lens. Simply be attentive and attuned to what is important to you, whether or not you currently have it in your life. You’ll notice that time, resources, and synchronicity will follow your attention, and whatever is important to you will develop, and grow.

If you didn’t have the time or the patience to read the whole article, and scrolled all the way to the end for the “bottom line”, here it is: if you feel that something is missing in your life, but you’re not sure what it is, it’s a resolvable challenge of needing a change. Let’s set up time to talk about it, just you and me, and we’ll figure it out.