It's Good to Be Lost Once in a While

by Wicks, Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9780197813805
• ISBN10: 0197813801
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2026-05-04
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details
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Summary

A soulful guide to embracing uncertainty, unlearning what no longer serves us, and discovering the beauty of becoming through life's transitions.

It's Good to Be Lost Once in a While seeks to help us, at different times in our day and life, to respond to the overarching question: What can I do most beautifully with my life? The book, as a whole, reminds us that as we move through the day and different phases of our life, as well as are required to face both inner transitions and external change, we must recognize that we are simultaneously the expert and the novice. Being concerned about the impact of what we don't already know is natural. However, an even greater danger to living a rich and meaningful life is what we think we already know, but really don't. When we are willing to humbly honor this reality, we are more able to let go, unlearn, and embrace needed additional knowledge when necessary. In the process, we can better discern our true gifts and welcome the heretofore unimaginable faces of...new possibility.

To enable this process to become richer, the following themes are explored: discernment, knowing the 5 necessary companions we need for our life's journey to be meaningful and satisfying, overcoming psychological resistance to growth and change, enhancing kenosis (inner spaciousness), mindfulness and the reflective process, mining the positive results of failure and uncertainty, and applying the principles of posttraumatic growth (PTG) in the search for possibility.

Author Biography

Robert J. Wicks received his doctorate in psychology (PsyD) from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital and is Professor Emeritus, Loyola University Maryland. His latest books from Oxford University Press include: The Simple Care of a Hopeful Heart; Bounce (Second Edition); and The Tao of Ordinariness. Dr. Wicks has lectured on the importance of resilience, self-care, the prevention of secondary stress, and maintaining a healthy perspective in 20 different countries around the world as well as the Mayo Clinic, Yale School of Nursing, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Harvard Divinity School, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The U.S. Air Force Academy, and on Capitol Hill.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Expert and the Novice

~ Field Notes on Being Awake to Possibility ~

1. Beginning Life Again...Now
The Art and Process of Careful Discernment

2. "If You Want to Go Fast, Go Alone...If You Want to Go Far, Go Together"
Five Necessary Companions for the Journey

3. Invisible Fences
Understanding the Psychology of Personal Resistance to Growth and Change

4. Preparing Space for Possibility
Letting Go, Kenosis, Unlearning, and the Delicate Role of Grieving

5. Don't Just Sit There in Silence and Solitude...Do Nothing!
A Mini-Guide to Reflection and Mindfulness

6. What Missing the Mark Can Teach Us
Failure, Faithfulness, and Epiphanies During Periods of Change and Uncertainty

7. Let's Be Clear About This
Basics in Critical Thinking and Developing More
Accurate Ways of Perceiving and Understanding

8. Personal Darkness and New Wisdom
Applying the Principles of Post Traumatic Growth