Companion post to
Confessions of a Safety-Holic — Now in Remission
As I look back on my life, I recognize that these are some clues my body was using to tell me — It’s time to make a major life change! It’s time to stop playing it safe and take that leap of faith! Run with uncertainty!
Do you recognize these clues? Is your body trying to tell you something too?
#1 You leave work feeling completely drained.
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- What I mean by completely drained is that you feel like your body is devoid of all energy. You almost feel like you’re having an out-of-body experience. It feels like your “essence” has been sucked out of you. And I felt this way leaving a job I liked! But it wasn’t the job I needed. Working for this Organization definitely makes me tired because creating is very energy intensive, but it’s a good tired, not a drained tired.
#2 You are tired ALL the time.
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- Even on your days off, you are just plain tired. Your body just wants to remain at rest, even if your mind doesn’t. You find yourself being “lazy” and “wasting” too much time, which just perpetuates the energy-drain cycle.
#3 You look in the mirror and don’t recognize yourself – you look so old!
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- One day it just hits you; holy crap, I look old! When did that happen?!?! My face looks so drawn; the dark circles under my eyes are so pronounced; my eyes have lost their sparkle. Um…energy drain…duh! It has a very real effect on our physical appearance.
#4 You don’t enjoy the things you used to.
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- The things I had a hard time enjoying were listening to music, reading, and going to the beach. My mind was so cluttered that I couldn’t let anything new in, and I couldn’t shut my brain off long enough to enjoy the peace of the beach.
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#5 You are bored out of your mind!
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- Don’t get me wrong, you’re busy, but you’re bored at the same time. You try to silence your racing thoughts by “relaxing,” i.e. vegging in front of the TV, surfing the internet aimlessly, etc. But God, does that ever get boring if your body is ready for growth.
#6 You are increasingly impatient and easily agitated.
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- You find yourself feeling “crunchy” a lot, and you are prone to lash out at your family, friends, co-workers. Plus, you are unbelievably annoyed by things that do not matter — one of the kids put their shoes in the wrong place, the dishwasher is not loaded the way it “should” be, the toilet paper roll is on backwards (ok, that one’s legit).
#7 You feel like you’re losing your mind.
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- Because you are trying to silence your inner voice and convince it that it is wrong, there is a constant battle of wills going on in your head. You can see both sides of every situation and change your mind multiples times a day. It’s way too loud in there.
#8 You stumble over your words.
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- Why? Because you are being so careful to say the “safe” thing — the thing that won’t offend anyone, that won’t make you look stupid, that gets your point across perfectly. But in the process, the sentence ends up changing several times on the path from your brain to your lips, and what comes out? Gibberish.
#9 You make excuses for everyone around you.
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- In order to avoid conflict (remain safe), you create explanations for whatever behavior it is you are tolerating from the people around. You tell yourself, I can accept {blank} because this other thing about this person is good. But what you are really doing is compromising your values.
#10 You start questioning “gut” decisions you have made.
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- You get yourself so turned around in your head that you don’t trust yourself anymore. And you are desperately trying to find the cause of this unrest you feel. In my case, I started questioning my marriage. My whole relationship with my husband was definitely a “gut” decision. Maybe I had been wrong; maybe I’m not cut out for marriage; or for living with three extra people. Maybe I just need to be on my own. (After many long talks with my husband and with my inner voice, I now know those thoughts were complete nonsense.)
Do you recognize any of these clues? Which ones? Any you would add to the list? Let us know in the comments!
If these signs sound way too familiar, this FREE WORKSHEET will help you identify areas in your life where you might be playing it too safe and will hopefully give you the courage to start living the fulfilling life you were meant to live.
Or, find out how you can start manifesting the life that you want. Click here.
For more posts with a “vulnerability” theme click here.
I have all these. It is crazy. Trying to make an effort but it has been a slow process. Slowly but surely.