When Have You “Drank the Kool-Aid” and Regretted It?

by | Mar 20, 2023 | Wisdom Over Toxicity

Image of a dark haired woman in a black turtleneck sitting at her desk with her chin resting on her left hand while she's thinking. She's sitting at her white desk with a silver laptop and a pink and black piece of artwork behind her.

It’s the Spring Equinox here in the U.S. and I’ve already been seeing the buds on trees and small plants come up the last couple of weeks. With nature changing and taking her next steps, it made me think of how we humans act when we’ve committed to an upcoming change in our lives. Sometimes changes are planned and unplanned, but for our planned changes I have a question for you.

Do you ever feel shame when you’re making a change from one set of beliefs to another? Or one past way of doing something to a new way? If not, that’s groovy, but if so, let’s unpack that today.

For those who prefer the audio version of this post, click the play button below.

When We Think That One Process Will Work for Us

I’ll admit, I’ve “drank the Kool-Aid” before: with an entity’s mission, the team dynamics, or a training and process, that made me go, “This is it!!” Until………it wasn’t. Usually, this comes after trial and error, or working with this process for months or more, and then seeing that shine wear off and that it’s just what it is: a process, a mission, or an org.

I’d wager that most of us have done this, but honestly, there’s nothing wrong with hoping that a process works for us, or that job. There’s nothing shameful about that and wanting to fit into something with our desires and hopes, and vice versa.

What’s a challenge, though, is when we stay so stuck, dedicated, or merged with a process or way of thinking, that we don’t shift. And when we’re not willing to shift – depending on our values and resources – that can be problematic. When we’re so enmeshed with a process that is defunct or doesn’t work with our life any longer, we have to think of other options.

Why? Because we have the power to make a change in our lives without shame. Without 100% regret. And without degrading ourselves for drinking the Kool-Aid. ‘Cause sometimes that stuff is colorful, fun, an adventure, and it feels good to have a shiny boost in our lives.

After We See the Other Options

This lifetime is about learning. Lessons…Oh so many lessons. They can be hard, neutral, and beautiful; sometimes all at once. Recently, I’ve decided to change a couple things around with my business model – stay tuned! – and while I could get down or embarrassed about it, I’m not. I don’t feel like I f-d up, I don’t feel like I misjudged a process or had too much faith in a pseudo-business building program. They had their messages and their ways of doing things. I’ve tried it their way, and it hasn’t panned out completely. So, now what? I do it my way.

And this is where a mix of guides come into play: new voices and expertise, more research into what system might work better, and most importantly, our intuition. Our intuition knows when something doesn’t feel right.

When we see other options or start to open up to the idea of trying something different, embrace that. Embrace your own willingness to see your work or your life from a different lens. Not everyone embraces change well, so give yourself some credit for at least trying!

Even if you’ve been like me and drank the Kool-Aid, at a job or in another life pursuit, don’t regret that. Don’t regret your willingness to follow advice or guidance. You’ve learned an incredible amount about yourself through the process and that choice or set of choices. And that is priceless. That will help refine your choice-making down the road and help you say, “yes” or “no” with more self-knowledge.

Also, bonus tip: you don’t always have to drink the full glass of Kool-Aid. Drink a smidge, see what it’s like, like a sample, if you can, and make your choice(s) from there. You do you – this is your life.

 

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That’s it for this week! Feeling inspired? If you’re looking for more tips, and want a more direct connection, join (for free) the FSW Circle and get The Weekly Wisdom in your Inbox. If you’re ready to ditch soul-sucking work and what doesn’t align with you and shift towards soul-full living and work-life balance…you need The Zone of Purpose™ Blueprint. And if you have any questions or comments, leave them below or contact me 1:1 this way. Chat with you soon and bright blessings on you!

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