Do you live your life in the gray? It seems to occur more with people than ever before. What used to be seen as right or wrong has now become questionable. Black and white areas of behavior are not necessarily the norm any longer. Viewpoints of life, quite often obtained from social media, are formed differently from the prior generation. This difference can often lend itself to conflicts within the same household.

The problem with living life in the gray is that people often fail to recognize when it’s unhealthy. Some clients I’ve worked with often overlook the pain that comes from living in the gray. Their tolerance to accept unhealthy relationships, addictive behaviors, or personal irresponsibility often lead to further counterproductive living. They rationalize the circumstances and begin a downward trend to more unhealthy living. Brent Crowe wrote in Chasing Elephants-Wrestling With the Gray Areas of Life that “while some gray areas might seem trivial, they often become the elephant in the room-that big and attention catching behemoth that no one wants to tackle or deal with.” Once people discover that some issues are clearly black and white their focus changes and they begin to create a different direction in life.

Are you finding yourself regularly making decisions that feel clouded and not leading you on the path you had planned? Then maybe it’s time to seek out a professional who has been trained in guiding others to find clarity for their life. Take a step forward to finding that life doesn’t have to be lived in the gray.

Mark Ellison, LAMFT