Last week, I was having a perfectly lovely conversation with a friend. We were talking about our plans for the future when something they said completely triggered me. I nearly burst into tears right in the middle of the conversation. I eventually got off the call and then went into a full-blown spiral.

Not their fault. They were simply sharing what was happening in their life. They had absolutely no idea that I had launched into a spectacular pity party, complete with all my old stories, yelling at the universe to give me a break.

A bit dramatic? Perhaps.

But I couldn't ignore it.

One thing I've learned about myself is that I'm usually pretty aware of what triggers me. I don't let myself off the hook. I sit with it and try to understand why it landed so hard. Eventually, I have to surrender to it and trust that, if I'm willing to stay with it long enough, something deeper will reveal itself.

More often than not, it's something I've faced before.

In fact, I was convinced I'd already dealt with this one…

What made you decide you weren't enough?

Why do you think something is wrong with you?

We look to external sources for most things that need fixing -emotional needs, physical needs, material needs. Cars. Homes. Our devices.

In most cases, that's the wise route. Not all of us have the skill set to fix a car or build a home. We call someone. We hire someone. We buy something. That's not a flaw. That's just how we take care of things.

But somewhere along the way, we started applying that same logic to ourselves…

There are moments in life when something inside whispers, “You can’t keep doing it this way anymore.”

Not because everything is falling apart.
Not because you’ve failed.
But because some deeper part of you is asking to be heard.

I’ve been in that space lately.

You know how sometimes you just need to pause and refocus? To step back from the noise and reconnect with what truly matters? That’s where I am right now.

What feels different this time is that this isn’t coming from urgency, fear, or the need to reinvent myself AGAIN. It feels more honest. It’s a knowing.

Letting go has been a significant theme for me for quite some time. The stories I tell myself. The self-judgement. The persistent thoughts. The experiences that have made an indelible impact on my life.

It’s not just me. As a coach, I hear this frequently. I hear it from my friends and family. I hear it in my communities. The stories and thoughts that are on repeat. The self-judgment that sneaks in most days. The past experiences that shape who we are and how we interact with the world.

How do we change the narrative, get rid of the stories, process the experiences in a way that allows us to release the pain and uncertainty? Awareness is the first step. Note the themes that show up in your life. Do you always react a certain way when you witness a specific type of behavior? Do you have a strange aversion to something and don’t know why? Do you have a persistent thought that won’t go away? Are you putting something off for way too long?