In a society that is built on teaching us to never give up, it can be difficult to know when to move on if something is no longer serving you. Society may teach a good lesson about not giving up too early and continuing to persevere. But it can be damaging to think that you’re giving up on something when you shouldn’t. It’s okay to move on from whatever is no longer serving you.
You’ve given things a shot
More than likely, whatever you’re planning on moving on from, you’ve been doing for a quite a while. Recognizing the signs that something is no longer working in your life is an excellent characteristic. You should be proud that you realized that you might need to make a change in your life. Change isn’t easy, and we often don’t choose to make changes unless they’re completely necessary.
Society often criticizes us, saying we haven’t done enough in our current situation to justify moving on. But only you can be the judge of how much you’ve done, what needs to change in the situation, and your ability to move forward from here. Embrace whatever is pushing your to change and explore your options.
You are the best judge of your own situation
Society may have it’s own assumptions about when, where, why, and how you should move on to something else. But you are the best judge of your own situation. Whatever situation you may be choosing to move away from, whether it be a relationship, a job, a location, a school, or anything else, remember that you are the one living your day-to-day life in the current situation. And you will be the one who eventually goes forward in whatever you are choosing moving toward.
Tuning out the criticism as best as you can is key to making the right decisions for you. Society isn’t in your everyday life making the choices for you, and only you have to deal with the situation you are currently in, so make a choice that feels good to you, no matter what expectations exist.
It’s okay to simply choose differently
I like to reiterate to people that you can change your mind whenever you want to. You don’t need a specific reason to move on from anything or anyone, and the justification for why you might choose to move on belongs to you and you alone. At any point in your life, you can make changes based on different preferences, new skills learned, and healing that you have done through your own personal work.
Why moving on is sometimes needed
Change can be scary, but if you’re being pulled in a specific direction towards a new opportunity, think about the reasons that it may be best to move forward. When we feel excited about a change, we usually know it’s the right move for us, and the opportunities presented to us can help us further out lives in ways we may not have otherwise imagined.
About Samantha Nolan, MA, LPC, ATR- Barnum Counseling
Image by pressfoto on Freepik