I didn’t have a breakdown.
No dramatic exit. No quitting-my-job-on-a-whim moment. No running off to Bali.
Just a quiet, uncomfortable realization:
I was settling.
Settling in my job.
Settling in my relationships.
Settling in how small I was letting my life become.
And it hit me — not all at once, but like a slow truth rising to the surface:
This is not what I came here to do.
"Fine" Was Slowly Killing Me
On paper, everything looked okay.
I had stability. A decent income. A calendar filled with social plans.
And yet… something inside me was withering.
I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t broken.
But I wasn’t alive either.
I was stuck in the trap so many of us fall into — convincing ourselves that “good enough” is good enough, that comfort is the same as happiness, that if nothing is technically wrong, we should just be grateful and shut up.
But I couldn’t shut up the quiet voice in my chest anymore.
It was whispering:
"This isn’t it. You know it isn’t."
The Day Everything Shifted
One morning — and I still don’t know why it was that morning — I looked at myself in the mirror and asked:
“If nothing changes… will I be proud of this life in ten years?”
The answer made my stomach drop.
No.
And that no?
It cracked something open.
I Didn't Burn My Life Down
Here’s the truth you don’t see on social media:
I didn’t instantly become fearless.
I didn’t launch a business the next day or meet the love of my life or become a glowing version of myself overnight.
I just started choosing differently.
Saying no to what drained me.
Saying yes to what scared me (in the good way).
Leaving rooms where I was only half-welcome.
Choosing honesty over approval.
Rest over hustle.
Depth over “busy.”
Bit by bit, I stopped shrinking.
Bit by bit, I started living.
What Living Feels Like
Living isn’t perfect. It’s not some Instagram aesthetic.
Living is messy. Vulnerable. Honest.
It’s crying in your car and then laughing five minutes later.
It’s risking discomfort for the sake of truth.
It’s choosing yourself over and over — even when it would be easier not to.
And once you taste it, you can’t go back.
You can’t go back to autopilot.
You can’t go back to pretending “fine” is enough.
You can’t go back to playing small just to stay safe.
If You’re Reading This…
This is your sign.
You don’t need to change everything today.
But you can start with one question:
“Am I settling?”
And if the answer is yes, here’s the good news:
You get to rewrite the story.
Even quietly. Even slowly. Even scared.
You’re allowed to want more.
More joy. More meaning. More aliveness.
Not because you’re ungrateful…
But because you’re finally ready to start living.
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