The last couple of months have been very challenging for me. Work has been stressful, I was dealing with seasonal depression, and I had a hard time making decisions for myself. Everything seemed to be going wrong all at once.
Yes, I go to therapy, meditate, talk to friends, read affirmations, and have hobbies but there are no perfect tools when dark days and unaddressed toxic traits takeover.
One day, I told Takia that I needed to take a trip. She looked at me with a very serious face and said "you don't get to run away this time." 😯
At first I pretended to be dumbfounded. What do you mean? What are you talking about? But we both knew exactly why I "needed" a trip and why she responded the way she did. When times are hard, I like to run away.
Hearing those words from Takia stopped me in my tracks. I've been running away from hard things most of my life. As I approach my 32nd birthday in a few weeks, it feels like to perfect time to address issues at the root. I discussed these feelings with my therapist and told myself I no longer needed to run, and this time around I finally
believe it.
Running from hard things can show up differently for everyone. It could look like:
- Avoiding hard conversations with loved ones or at work
- Hesitancy to take ownership of projects, go after a big job or learning something new
- Not committing to things like your workout routine, hobbies, dating, etc.
- Saying yes to things when you really don't want or need to
- Being really hard on yourself instead of addressing the root causes or challenges
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing some of the self-sustaining practices that have been extremely helpful for me. If you are someone who finds yourself running from hard things, I invite you to come along on this journey with me.
