By Susan Russo
The other day a friend asked me, “What am I going to do? I can’t live without him in my life. How do I go on? He was my life.” When faced with being alone after your relationship ends, it literally feels as if you don’t know who you are, where you are and how you got there.
Your life was so intertwined with your partner’s life that it seems that the two of you became one. No wonder people tend to use the cliché, “A part of me is missing.”
Related: Returning to the Dating World
NEWS FLASH
You’re normal!
How do you think you’re going to feel after you’ve spent years sharing everything together? That includes family, friends, vacations, pets, children, life … and the most private and intimate details of who you are with the person you believed would be there forever. Is it any wonder you can’t get your head on straight after this emotional volcano erupting in your life?
But rest assured, even though you feel like you’ll never find your way out of the darkness, there is a light shining so bright at the end of the proverbial tunnel that you will bask in its glory when you’re through it and this heartbreak is behind you.
I’ll never forget the time Nicole Kidman was on The Oprah Winfrey Show after Tom Cruise had filed for a divorce. Her pain was so palpable you could hear it in her voice, feel it through her words, and see it on her face.
I was crushed and it wasn’t even happening to me!
I’m sure millions of viewers could relate to Kidman’s pain because they know there isn’t anything quite like the devastation you feel when the person you love decides they don’t want to be with you anymore.
But…look at her now!
PICKING UP THE PIECES
1. GRIEF: Cry until you’re dry! Grief is a process. You can’t go around it, under it or over it. You have to go through it. Get it out so you can get on with your life.
2. ACCEPTANCE: This is the first step in letting go of the past. You will begin to pick up the pieces when you finally let go of all of the lamenting of how you wished things would’ve turned out differently and accept the reality of your situation.
3. FORGIVENESS: This can be one the toughest things to do, but at the same time when you find forgiveness it is the most freeing thing you can do. It is a gift you give yourself.
Related: Falling Out of Love and Back Into Life
MOVING ON
The end is just the beginning. There is life after this relationship and it’s going to be a great one. Look at all of the people who have loved and lost and who are now happy. You’ll find your soul mate when you let go of the past. So, embrace the future one day at a time and before you know it you’ll be living the life you so richly deserve.
Susan Russo is the author of: There Is Life After What’s-His-Name, The 7 Keys to Unlock the Power Within You and is co-author of, Success and Happiness-16 Experts Reveal Their Secrets. A graduate from the EPIC Coaches Academy and with over 10 years’ experience as a Life and Relationship Coach, she teaches you how to transform adversities into life changing opportunities.
