If you're feeling unusually sad, have you considered...

If you’re feeling unusually sad at the moment, and everything in your life is stable or there’s been no real big ‘negative’ event that has happened lately.

You might be wondering what’s going with me?

Well, you may be grieving an old part of you that’s dying off.

You may be grieving an identity that you’re struggling to let go of, which you know you need to let go of, or you are still attached to an identity that you know cannot be a part of your next evolution.

You’re still living in the past and can’t let go.

This transition of letting old parts of ourselves go, can be extremely sad and depressing.

Especially when you build an identity around it, and people know you for it, praise you for it and you belong to a group of people because of it.

I work with men who have had big careers come to an end, and find themselves deeply sad, not understanding why.

After some deep reflection, they realise they are grieving a large portion of their life they dedicated themselves to, their blood sweat and tears, and of course, their identity.

Other men, realise they are grieving their youthful energy and body, wondering why can’t their body perform like it used to, why is it so hard to get back into the shape they had years ago.

For me, it was grieving my identity as an athlete. As soon as I stopped playing high level sport, I was like ‘oh, what are people going to know me for now?’, I had the belief I was nothing and no one without my sport.

For others who go on this journey of self-development and finding deeper meaning in their life, it could be they find themselves no longer wanting to drink and party, and realise most of their friendships are based around alcohol and that they will essentially ‘lose’ the friendships they had.

Most men, do not know they are grieving, and judge themselves for being sad for no reason, thinking their might be something wrong with them.

When really, it could be the simple fact they could be grieving the ‘death’ of an identity or an old part of themselves.

If we can take time to become aware of old parts we are outgrowing or transitioning out of, and allow ourselves to grieve, the quicker we are able to accept the re-birth of something new, exciting and even more beautiful.