Altitude Sickness
The Pain of Outgrowing the Old You
When you stop accepting breadcrumbs, the Universe knows you're ready for the feast.
Like eagles soaring beyond storms, those who embrace their authentic evolution experience a form of altitude sickness. This elevation isn't just about rising higher – it's about outgrowing spaces that once felt like home. As you ascend to higher frequencies of awareness, you'll find yourself speaking a language that old connections struggle to understand.
The ascent reveals truths you can't unsee. That cherished college friendship suddenly feels like a tight shoe on a growing foot. Professional relationships that once seemed acceptable now chafe against your expanded sense of worth. You're not just changing – you're outgrowing the containers that once defined you. When a potential client tries to negotiate your fees, stand firm with grace and offer payment plans instead of shrinking to fit old expectations. I learned this lesson myself when hiring an elite book coach. Though her fee made me quietly gasp, I recognized it as the cost of outgrowing my previous limitations. Two published books later, that investment in my expansion proved transformative.
The Art of Conscious Release
This stretches into every relationship. When my first book was published, I invited everyone to celebrate at the release party. My network rallied around the achievement, but an interesting pattern emerged once they had the book in hand. Some made polite excuses about not having time to read it. Others seemed uncomfortable with its introspective themes. One college friend's blatant indifference struck particularly deep, prompting a gentle acknowledgment: "I so appreciate you buying my book, however, I hope you know that it’s not required reading." It was a moment of recognizing we had grown in different directions.
Tupac wisely noted, "Just because you lost me as a friend doesn't mean you gained me as an enemy. I'm bigger than that. I still wanna see you eat, just not at my table." This perspective transforms the pain of outgrowing from loss to liberation – a conscious curation of your energy and space.
Practical Steps to Honor Your Growth
1. Trust Your Energy Signals: Your body speaks the truth about outgrown connections through energy levels, physical responses, and emotional reactions. When diminishing comments arise, let them bounce off your expanded awareness.
2. Embrace New Standards: Stop squeezing into old patterns. Set clear professional boundaries, require deposits, and maintain structured working hours. Your evolution demands new rules of engagement.
3. Release Relationships with Grace: Create mindful closure practices for outgrown relationships. You can even choose to journal the lessons learned and/or create personal closure practices. (One wrote an old friend a letter and then burned…very cathartic!)
4. Seek Higher Standards: Join organizations and masterminds that match your expanded vision. Attend industry events, host purpose-driven gatherings, and build relationships with those who understand the altitude you're reaching for.
Remember: You don't lose anyone – they lose the privilege of growing with you. When you stop accepting breadcrumbs, you create space for the feast you deserve. Your worth isn't determined by those you've outgrown, but by your courage to keep expanding.
The altitude sickness of outgrowing is temporary. The perspective from your new height? Permanently transformative.
🦅 Ascending with you,
Andrea
The Global Authority on Cognitive Reframing
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