Arlene Ambrose

The truth is, I’m exhausted.

Continuing to pursue these relationships causes you to miss out on connections with people who care about your wellbeing.

The goal of softhearted people is to live in a state of harmony with minimal stress. When they are unable to do this, they become moody, unhappy, and feel drained.

Your anxiety is coded as fear because you’re trying to protect yourself from all the possible negative outcomes. 

You’ll recognize when you’ve found home without ever having the words to describe it. Home is a sense of knowing, surety, and familiarity. 

You can’t seem to choose a career path because your passions don’t relate to each other.

The way I looked at relationships changed when I realized that I’d spent most of my life trying to manipulate people—mostly men—into loving me. 

You’re attracted to relationships that require fighting. You think you have to do something to receive love. You think you have to overcome a crisis and suffer. These thoughts are struggle-love. 

Right now, I choose to be defiant. I’m going to kick, scream, claw, drag, roll, vomit, and huff and puff my way back to life.

It’s okay if all you did today was open your eyes. It’s okay if all you did today was drag yourself from the bed to the fridge to the bathroom—if that.

You need to be still. 

Compare yourself to where you were yesterday, not other people.

You’ve had an emotional year, and here you are. You’re still standing or lying or barely crawling, but you’re here.

Either you believe you can or you don’t. I’m not saying that it’s easy, but you don’t have to make it harder than it needs to be. Struggling is not a prerequisite for your life.

You can send him a stack of self-improvement books. You can link a thousand inspirational videos, journal prompts, and workbooks, but it won’t fix his brokenness unless he wants to. 

Their tactics aren’t blatant, but sneaky. They leave you second guessing yourself.

Not might, not maybe, but will. There’s curiosity in seeing what we can get away with.