The road to self-knowledge and personal growth leads to a myriad of discoveries, transformations, concepts, and new ideas. It is inevitable that periods of confusion will ensue at some point or another along the way. Confusion can be expressed as two or more conflicting forces leading to widely different or uncertain outcomes. The confusion sets in when we are either unwilling or unable to make a decision, yet we resist falling back to old patterns. We want nothing more than to move ahead in our journey, but we are unsure what direction to take.
Confusion is an uncomfortable state to be in. Most of us generally like to know exactly where we are going in life and why. We tend to prefer a clear view ahead, rather than a murky path to the unknown. It’s human nature. Unfortunately, the occasional state of confusion is an unavoidable situation when we pursue self-knowledge and personal growth. As we deconstruct the old, we may at times find ourselves in a kind of limbo while we await reconstruction of the new. And the new construct takes time as we carefully examine, rebuild and re-define the self. There are no overnight road trips or 30-day programs to self-actualization. There are no short cuts. The journey is continuous, it’s life-long and it’s ever-changing. And you will encounter dips in the road which will make it difficult for you to see the way ahead at times; clarity will dim.
Yet, while it’s true that confusion can cloud our minds and lead to inertia, it doesn’t have to be so. If we are able to channel the tension that results from confusion in a positive rather than negative way, it can, and will, encourage creative thought. We can use the discomfort to propel us toward new ways of thinking, encourage us to step outside our comfort zone and help us to seek out creative solutions. It can become the fertile ground for deep examination, meaningful change, and real growth.
Absent any confusion we remain at a standstill; we may have convinced ourselves that we have all of the answers. But in thinking we have all of the answers, we are not only deceiving ourselves, we are dampening the fires for potential and creative growth. I would rather be confused, than be disillusioned in thinking I have all of the answers.
Keeping a calm and open mind during times of confusion will allow us to delve deeply for those answers. When we look far towards the horizon, and gaze up towards the stars without fear or self-imposed boundaries, we can reach towards the infinite for the inspiration that awaits.
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listentomethunder 
Isn’t it funny how the things society tells us are negative can actually help us? I don’t like feeling confused, but I agree with you: confusion is much better than disillusioned confidence.
My therapist/life coach/mentor (lol) has always told me that confusion is healthy. It means that we see things as they really are (healthy)and sometimes that causes some natural confusion, (normal). The healthy confusion then serves as a force to prod us into thinking in creative and divergent ways in order to seek clarity. It can be a positive force, despite it being an uncomfortable one. I can personally attest to this 🙂
Hi lthibault11,
I recently posted some back and forth with intpblogger who you follow, but I don’t know if you are still following those posts. I was intrigued by your own experiences leading you to Dabrowski’s model of personality development….I outlined my own interest that was induced by limerent experiences similar to those mentioned by intpblogger and included these thoughts in her most recent posts. I think “struggle and confusion” clearly are a part of growth and something that we cannot do without even if we tend to think that everlasting comfort would be so nice. Yet I also feel that many of the obstacles that we struggle with as adults are rooted in early life experiences….some pre-verbal and some not. The strange, inconvenient, yet well-documented truth is that there is much that get’s put into our subconscious from early life experiences that we don’t actually see are affecting our adult life motivations and decisions.
I will leave off here with this introduction and simply ask what you feel about early life experiences in your own development and how they influence your own personality type. Thanks and interesting writings….
Hi there,
My response to your question ended up being so long that I decided to make a post out of it, lol. I hope you don’t mind. Thank you for your comment as well as the inspiration you provided for a new post!
L