How to Stop Isolating Yourself and Start Living Again

We all have our own closets to come out of.

The thrill of the roller coaster and the story told afterwards are directly related to the anticipation built up beforehand. We know there must be slow uphill crawls in order to experience the fast-paced thrills with hands in the air, mouths open for the cameras. Without an uphill climb, there can be no downhill momentum. This is physics. This is how the universe works.

Stuck in the Waiting Period

I’d been frustrated lately. Probably too frustrated. Because I’d been in the waiting period of the roller coaster. I got the park map. I picked the ride I wanted to get on. But now I was baking in the sun, listening to metaphorical crying children wail in their strollers, while I waited to pull the trigger on a Mach 3 Adventure of a Lifetime.

The Universe Threw a Multi-Front Assault

Through various synchronicities, I took away a few things.

I’ve got to stop pretending I’m so smart and start listening to what others can teach me. Pretend to be the least intelligent person in the room and you’ll learn something from everyone.

I need to get better at asking for help and advice. Humility.

I need to learn by doing, not by studying what someone else did. Live.

I need to diversify the books I read, people I hang out with, and places I go. Find new perspective.

The Closet I Was Hiding In

It was clear to me. I needed to come out of the closet. Not the metaphorical one everyone thinks of. The literal tiny office space where I’d been doing my reading, writing, studying, meditating, praying, and cursing.

I’d basically lived in that closet for months trying to figure out the universe. Trying to figure out myself. Building projects. Launching things. But I forgot to do one thing: live.

So I decided I would come out of the closet. The universe had me surrounded from all sides and wouldn’t stop signaling.

Saying Yes Again

I started saying yes to life again. And what was so interesting was that the second I was ready to say yes mentally, I had the opportunity to say it. Living in my closet had put me in a zone where I wasn’t an energetic match to socialization and the brilliance and joy that comes along with it.

I started living again. Nothing crazy. Dinner and conversation. But what an amazing night. Great friends who had the exact words I needed to hear to get back into the flow of momentum. Inspiration was all around me.

I met brilliant people who were actually doing what I’d only been reading about. Living their dreams. Executing on ideas. Making things happen.

Living Your Truth

For so long, I thought you had to put on an image of success every single day. But living your truth is much more attractive in the long term than living a lie.

I didn’t want to go back into the real world until I’d achieved a level of success that would justify all the time I’d spent in the closet. I wanted to say: see, I was building this. But who cares? This isn’t worth it if you’re miserable.

I came out of the closet that night. It was grand. Living life feels good. Life is a roller coaster. The line was long and the climb was hard, but the experience was incredible.