Have You Stayed Too Long?
Sep 24, 2025
My grandmother had a way of saying things that landed like truth wrapped in poetry. She would shake her head gently and say:
“You went too far. You stayed too long. You paid too much.”
She wasn’t scolding. She was gently chastizing, naming what so many of us feel but rarely admit—that sometimes, the cost of our choices is measured not in money, but in our own joy.
Maybe you know that feeling.
Maybe you’ve stayed too long in roles that no longer nourish you.
Maybe you’ve silenced your instincts out of obligation, loyalty, or fear of being seen as ungrateful.
Maybe you’ve been carrying the weight of being the strong one for so long that you’ve forgotten what it feels like to be lit up by your own life.
And then the voices start.
Regret whispers, You should have left sooner.
Resentment echoes, After everything I’ve given, this is the thanks I get?
Uncertainty lingers, But if not this… then what?
If you’ve ever carried those whispers inside you, you are not alone.
The High Cost of Staying Too Long
We live in a world that celebrates perseverance.
Push through.
Stick it out.
Be dependable.
And yes—those qualities can be admirable. But they can also become shackles when they keep us tethered to lives we’ve outgrown.
The truth is, staying too long has a cost.
It drains vitality.
It dulls intuition.
It numbs joy.
And yet, leaving—even when we know it’s time—can feel terrifying.
Often, endings aren’t tidy. They require us to surrender certainty, step into vulnerability, and admit that what once fit no longer does.
The Invitation Hidden in Transition
But here’s what I’ve learned: transitions, though rarely easy, are always invitations.
An invitation to pause.
An invitation to choose differently.
An invitation to begin again.
When life whispers that you’ve gone too far, stayed too long, or paid too much, it isn’t condemning you. It’s reminding you that you still have agency. That even now, you can decide your next chapter will look different from the last.
Choosing to Begin Again
Maybe for you, that looks like releasing a role that no longer excites you.
Maybe it means setting down the weight of always being the strong one.
Or maybe it’s simply listening to the quiet voice inside that says: I want more. I want different. I want to feel alive again.
Transitions don’t ask us to have all the answers before we step forward. They ask us to trust that clarity arrives once we give ourselves permission to move.
And clarity always comes.
What This Means for You
If you’ve been feeling the tug—the subtle sense that the life you’ve built no longer feels like the right fit—you are already in transition. And that’s good news.\
It means possibility is alive in you.
It means there’s a part of you that refuses to settle.
It means you are ready to reclaim the dreams that once lit you up.
So hear me clearly: you haven’t missed your moment.
The life that lights you up is still waiting for you.
You don’t have to carry regret, resentment, or uncertainty into your next season. You can choose again. You can begin again. And you don’t have to do it alone.
This is your invitation.
To pause.
To choose differently.
To begin again.
And to rediscover what it feels like to be lit up by your own life.
📌 If these words resonate with you, I created a free resource to help you take that first step. It’s called the 12-Step Transformation Workbook, a gentle guide to release what no longer serves and begin again with clarity and courage.
