Monday, February 12, 2018

It's OK to walk away

When I was younger I thought that I had to finish everything I started.  I finished books I didn't like.  I cleaned my plate when filled with food I didn't want.  I even felt a self-imposed obligation to listen to a song to the end even when I wanted to listen to something else.  Even as a parent I made my children finish out all the activities they signed up for even when they didn't give it their best (because it wasn't their thing).

I'm in recovery now though. Over time I've found that it's OK to walk away from things that don't bring you joy or help you along your journey.

If we are doing things that are preventing you from making today a good day it is fine for us to stop doing those things. We don't have to explain or make up polite excuses.  We can just walk away.

We can walk away from bad relationships.  We can walk away from uncomfortable situations.  We can walk away from failed attempts at good-day-making.  We can walk away.

Later, we can walk back if we want.  We can come at it from a different angle or attitude.  We can try again after we've rested or rethought the goals. Or . . we can walk away forever.