When is Enough Truly Enough...?

Recently I've found myself in a few situations that I know I shouldn't be putting myself through and that I've previously vowed never to enter again. This sounds kind of extreme and I promise it's nothing crazy, but it does feel very redundant and self-destructive. My senior year of high school when I was envisioning my college life, I remember day-dreaming about certain energies that I wanted to be surrounded with, as well as situations that I never wanted to put myself through again. Lately though, I've caught myself on a couple occasions putting up with behaviors and situations that would have made senior year of high school me pissed.

I think when it comes to entering new periods of my life I find it difficult to let go of certain connections that aren't fruitful anymore, which sometimes puts me in slighty less than ideal circumstances. Part of the reason for this is that I truly value every connection that I make with people, and even when I know I should walk away part of me still finds it challenging. Another reason for this is that even though I know certain things aren't serving me anymore, there is comfort in something that is familiar. But just because something is similar doesn't make it right.

Photo Credit - Google (I know I've used this photo before but I think it's really funny so here it is again!)

Over the past couple years I've had to slowly walk away from a lot of different things. Not all of these are negative though. As I've gotten older I've started to realize just how many aspects of my life I am beginning to outgrow and I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. I've seen a couple TikToks of people talking about how they cannot wait to move out and "restart" their life, and college was going to be (on a smaller scale) like that for me. While I have grown a lot since starting UIC, I can also acknowledge the fact that I'm still clinging onto certain habits that are stunting my growth. All of this begs the question: When is enough TRULY enough?

I think a simple answer to this question would be: enough is enough when you notice yourself becoming a different person, or enough is enough when a situation negatively affects you. I believe these are good answers, but a lot of things are always easier said than done. Sometimes it may be harder to remove yourself from particular situations or connections because they may not seem detrimental at surface level, but just because you can't see the negative affects right away doesn't mean they aren't there. In addition to this, constantly putting yourself through situations just because they are "familiar" may be stopping you from entering really positive and uplifting ones. I'm sure at some point or another in life you've heard someone say that "change/growth is hard". This phrase is kind of overused and I almost hate to say it in here, but it's true. If I've learned anything at all in life it's that change is hard. It's also important to keep in mind that change doesn't directly mean growth. Growth indicates a very positive form of improvement, while change can be either positive or negative. So when it comes to deciding whether enough is enough, I'd say don't let yourself settle for what feels familiar just because you are afraid that growing out of it may feel briefly uncomfortable.

I've recently been talking to my friends a lot about tea and coffee. What I mean by this is, I've allowed myself to constantly settle for things that I've always known (tea), rather than giving myself the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and strive (coffee). The wayI like to describe this train of thought is: I love tea and I've always loved tea. When I look for new connections or experiences I often find myself drinking different forms of tea (though they may be different, they are all still tea). On the other hand, maybe I'm completely missing out on the world of coffee. It would be an adjustment to switch from tea to coffee but I think it'd be beneficial. Coffee is stronger than tea after all. A less convoluted way to look at this is: maybe we are missing out on so many more positive and meaningful life experiences simply because we can't say "enough is enough", and often times I think deep down we are aware of this.

Slight homework (I know sorry...) take a step back and look at the connections or the situations you are in and ask yourself "Is this my tea or my coffee? (Am I settling or am I striving?)".

Photo Credit - Google

I hope that every single one of you has a great rest of your week, and an even better weekend!

With love always,

~Side Note xoxo!!