Removing yourself from a situation that no longer serves you

Ask yourself this, How much are you worth?

Your time?

Your peace of mind?

Your happiness?

Your health?

These are the things you compromise staying in situations that no longer serve you and allowing problems to live in your head rent-free.

The most candid story I tell people is the story of my last day working at chipotle. I had a closing shift in early April 2019. I got to work already dreading the shift, swiped my card to clock in... then proceeded to bawl my eyes out in front of EVERYONE.

Now I definitely skipped a lot of instances that led up to that moment. For one I absolutely hated that job and knew I wanted to quit months prior. The weeks leading up to my last day put a huge strain on my emotional well-being. My entire mood would change from happy and energized to depressed with an angry with a dark cloud looming over me within the 15 bus ride to work, followed by a series of aggravated voice memos and phone calls to my friends in between breaks on my shift. It was no secret that I wanted and needed to quit that job for the sake of my well-being but I waited until my final breaking point to do it.

The reasons for waiting were like any other reasons to put off quitting a job. Money, job security, and hoping that it’ll get better if you just stick it out a little longer. Two years later I still wish I wouldn’t have allowed myself to be pushed to such limits but I am grateful for the lesson behind it.

What I learned from reaching my lowest point of peace in a situation and allowing it to give me a legitimate breakdown is that I never want to be put in a situation like that or stay in a situation like that ever again.

Two years later I’ve never stayed in a situation long enough to bring me to that point again. I learned how much I value my peace of mind and well-being and how I don’t want anything to compromise that. When I am in a situation where over time I can feel it getting me mad before I’m even in the space, holding negative space in my head rent-free, or showing negative signs in my health, I know it’s time to go.

We are human beings living our lives. Toxic situations will come and go forever. The only thing we can control is to decide when enough is enough and remove yourself.

This situation I went through will take different shapes for different people.

A toxic job

A toxic relationship

Toxic friends

Toxic family members

The list goes on and on. But what doesn’t change is you and your well-being.

I’m not going to sit here and act like removing yourself from every situation is easy. Every action carries its own repercussions but it’s not something you should be afraid of. Whether you’re concerned about seeming like a quitter or “losing” the situation, those things don’t matter. Those are external factors that don’t account for your well-being. For those who cant, I pray you will find the resources and strength to do so.

So I challenge you to put yourself first in the situations that put your well-being second.