The hidden cost of high-functioning habits—and how to begin again:

Most of us don’t realize we’re living in the dark—until something breaks.

You think you’re doing fine. You’re showing up, keeping your commitments, managing the weight. You’ve figured out how to function in pain without calling it pain.

But functioning isn’t the same as seeing.

And survival isn’t the same as being alive

Twenty-five years ago, my body gave out before I did.

At the time, I was powering through. I had responsibilities,
people who needed me, and a dozen reasons to keep ignoring the whispers from within.

Then came the health crisis. I won’t romanticize it—it was serious. But what came after was just as startling: clarity.

I saw, for the first time, how much I had trained myself not to see.

Not because I was lazy.
Not because I didn’t care.
But because that’s what we do when staying unaware feels safer than waking up.

I learned the hard way that:

Habits can help us survive.
They let us avoid discomfort, keep the peace, and move through the day.
But they can also become blinders.

You get so used to avoiding what hurts, you forget it’s even there.

One day, you hear yourself saying:

You’re not failing.
You’ve just gotten used to the dark.

Awareness isn’t permanent.

You don’t flip a light switch once and live forever in clarity.

The dark pulls. The habits return. The numbness creeps back in quietly.

Even now, I still catch myself reaching for old habits when I’m tired. But the difference is—I know how to come back.

That’s why I don’t rely on insights alone—I return to my practice.

Here are 5 practices that I now practice as a lifestyle .
Not to “solve” something, but to stay with myself.

They help me notice when I start sliding into old patterns.
They help me remember what I’m feeling—before my body has to yell.

You don’t need a full retreat or morning routine. You need a moment. A pause. A re-orientation toward presence.

Here’s a simple Focusing-style practice you can try right now:

That’s the truth I remind myself and share with clients now:

The light switch doesn’t require an emergency.

You can choose to see.
You can choose to pause.
You can choose to come back into relationship with yourself - today

If this stirred something in you—if you’re tired of being “fine” and ready to feel real again

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I invite you to schedule a free Next-Level You Discovery Session.

No pressure. No pitch. Just presence.
A chance to explore what’s here, and what’s next.

👉 Book your session here