Walk Away

Protect your peace. Life is too short to be tethered to things that are weighing you down, or people that do not appreciate you. You may just be surprised at how liberating this can be. But do it for the right reasons. Many are the clients that end up in my office saying that they feel worse now that they cut the cord. But we need to remember, that walking away should not be to punish another person. It should be to reward ourselves. And peace is that reward.

There has always been one common theme in my coaching practice over the years. And that is to protect your peace at all cost. Toxic work environment? Walk away. Abusive relationship? Walk away. Unsupportive family? Walk away. And this is where it can get tricky. Many people stay with family at a horrific cost to their self-esteem. Years and years of neglect and abuse take a toll. They stay out of a sense of duty or guilt, and then pay the price on the back end. Don’t walk away mad. Just walk away. And if it’s physical abuse. Don’t walk. Run!

“We must learn to distinguish true peace, from comfortably numb.”

To protect your peace, you must first value it. And you value your peace by honoring yourself. It is the gift that no one can really give us. Sure, there are some who act as a safe harbor for you. But ultimately, you have to leave that harbor. And that is why protecting your peace is so important. We must learn to distinguish true peace, from comfortably numb. Comfortably numb is what happens when we stay in an environment, or with people that do not have our best interest in mind. And sometimes, we ourselves get comfortably numb with the way we think.

Life has a way of conditioning us to our circumstances. That is why it is so important to walk away from the things that no longer serve us. That includes our internal thought process. Are you holding onto negative thoughts and feelings from years ago? Do you constantly post on social media all of your problems? If so, it’s time to walk away.

I have a friend on Facebook who every morning post something positive and say’s “Have a good day”. What a great start. Then the rest of the day, they proceed to post every annoyance that has happened to them during the course of the day. It is this repetition that keeps them in a mind-set on the other end of the spectrum of gratitude. While I care for this person, I had to unfollow {not unfriend} them, so I didn’t have to witness the multiple daily train wrecks. Protecting my peace. There are many things we can’t control. But the things that we can {especially with it comes to peace}, we should.

Walking away takes discipline. But it is a discipline that is well worth cultivating. I said it before, I do not believe in burning bridges. But I’m old enough now to know that changed behavior is the best apology. And sometimes that changed behavior must come from us. Because many times we keep ourselves from peace. So be forgiving but be firm. Because if you’re not in peace. It may be time to walk away from that mind-set, environment or relationship.