12 Signs You’re In The Wrong Story (And It’s Time To Leave)

1. You’re constantly exhausted.

Even with eight hours of sleep and two coffees in your system, you just can’t seem to wake the hell up these days. You’re beginning to suspect that it’s not your body that’s facing exhaustion, it’s your mind. You aren’t focusing on the things you love lately and so your brain is always operating at half-capacity.

2. You’re only meeting people who are unlike you.

You’re constantly wondering where all the other people who share your passion, your vision and your zest for life in general are. And the answer is simple: they’re out doing whatever it is you wish you were doing. Those people exist, but they exist in a different story. You know – the one that you should probably be in.

3. You’re never encountering opposition (and when you do, you don’t bother fighting it).

You can’t remember the last time you felt genuinely challenged. Sure, you’ve faced the odd conflict or turmoil – but none of them have offended you on a personal level or really gotten you riled up. These days it seems easier to let everyone else have their way because if you’re being honest, you just don’t care one way or another.

4. The only thing you’re excited about is taking a break from your life.

Sure, you’re excited about the future – you have a vacation to Jamaica booked this January and you can’t wait to get the hell out of here!

But when it comes to your day-to-day life, you’re not particularly excited about any part of it. You can’t remember the last time you were REALLY inspired by a work project, a date with your significant other or an event that you were planning to attend. You’ve gotten stuck in a merry-go-round of things that, well, just don’t interest you that much.

5. Some part of you knows exactly what the right story would look like.

At heart, you know exactly what you’d rather be doing with your life. It’s just that you’ve convinced yourself that the thing you’d rather be doing is a lofty or unrealistic goal. So you’ve been pushing it down for years now – but as soon as you read the above bullet point, your mind immediately identified what the ‘thing you’d rather be doing’ is.

6. The thought of starting over is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying to you.

Yes, you’ve imagined booking that plane ticket, packing your belongings up and taking a chance on that dream. It’s just that there are so many unknowns involved in that plan – and those unknowns are both enthralling and paralyzing.

7. You aren’t interested in discussing your life with others.

The phrase, “So what’s new with you?” Is almost always met with a shrug and a half-hearted “Not much,” even if you do, in fact, have many new things going on. It’s not that there’s nothing happening in your life, it’s just that you aren’t particularly thrilled about any of the things that are happening – so you’d almost always rather talk about what’s going on with other people.

8. Your life has become mostly about pleasing other people.

It’s not that you lack a backbone – it’s just that you don’t care much about your own stuff right now, so you might as well direct your energy towards doing whatever is expected of you. Sure, you can date this person. Sure, you can work this job. Sure, you can go to this party or that event or this engagement. It’s not like you have anything better in mind.

9. You miss the person you used to be.

You remember exactly what it felt like to be inspired, motivated and working towards a life that you wanted – it’s just that somewhere along the way, you pulled over to catch your breath and never got back behind the steering wheel. You miss the version of yourself who took control of his or her life – and you wonder constantly when you’re going to see that person again.

10. You have a unique passion or skill set that is going unused.

You have something big and important to offer the world, but it just doesn’t fit into the life that you’re currently leading. You know that if you had the courage to follow a different path, you could make an impact in a way that truly matters.

11. When you dream about the future, you dream about a life that is nothing like the one you have now.

Your ideal future takes place in a different city, with a different job and different people surrounding you. In fact, there isn’t a whole lot about your current life that you hope stays the same for very long.

12. The main thing keeping you where you are is security.

When you think about what’s standing in the way of you and the life you actually want to be living, the only true factor is security. You know where you’d rather be, what you’d rather be pursuing, and maybe even who you’d rather be surrounded by. You’re only honestly staying where you are because it’s comfortable and easy. But you’re sure that one day – sooner than later – you’re going to be ready to stop choosing comfort. And to finally start the next chapter.