The coping mechanisms that you developed to help you survive might now be keeping you from thriving.
If you were hurt in the past, you might have learned that you have to isolate yourself from others in order to protect yourself. Yet doing so makes it so much harder to establish the loving, secure, and mutual relationships that will help you to be happier.
Today, look back on your past and ask yourself these three questions:
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How did I learn to protect myself from pain?
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Are those protective measures still serving me?
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If not, what would it look like to lower my guard, just a little bit?