Have you ever been on a walk through the woods and come across an old creek bed–a path that a creek used to flow down, but at some point in the past has taken a new course? Well, when you begin making changes, it’s like a creek beginning to take a new course. It generally takes time for the new path to deepen. At first, water only rarely flows down the new path. As it deepens, water can often flow down both paths. As it deepens further, it will flow down the new path most of the time. Only when there is a heavy rain, does water flow down the old path. When there is a heavy rain under these conditions, water flows down both paths at the same time. Eventually, the old path begins to gradually fill in with trees, fallen leaves, and dirt. It takes a heavier and heavier rain to fill in the old creek bed. And in the end, there is a slight depression in the earth that only takes on water in the heaviest of rains, but it is a very small amount compared to the water that is flowing down the new path.

When you begin making changes, it is like the water beginning to take a new path. Most of the time it flows down the old path. As you progress, you might spend about 50% of the time in one path and 50% in the other. Eventually, you’ll stick with the new path most of the time. However, under times of stress or tumult (think heavy rain), the water will again flow down the new path. Now, there is no need to be distressed about this. Even though you are going down the old path under times of stress, you are also going down the new path at the same time. So, when the old patterns emerge, you will also see elements of the new pattern. You will see that the symptoms are not quite as intense as they were, and you may stop short of doing things that were problematic in the past (the new path). Over time the old path begins to fill in from lack of use. It begins to weaken, and the new path continues to strengthen and deepen.

 

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