Burn That Bridge!
We have been taught that we must never burn bridges because we never know when we might need to cross them again. I'd like to challenge this antiquated belief system. Maybe that bridge needs to be incinerated! Maybe that burned bridge is an opportunity to use the ashes of past mistakes or failures or things no longer serving you and walk boldly into the higher version of yourself and a life beyond your wildest dreams. Maybe you burning that bridge is your way of finally setting boundaries and cutting yourself off to people, places and things that are no longer serving you or that have taken advantage of you.
Boundaries are these invisible lines between our physical world and our feelings, needs and responsibilities. When we fully understand ourselves and our needs we are able to express our boundaries in a healthy way without guilt, shame or resentment. It is simply the rules that you live by. Most of us have not properly learned how to place boundaries because we aren't fully aware of what our boundaries are. Our society teaches us to work hard, keep our chins down, to do what we are told, to keep the blinders on and just do what we have to do to get through the day. When we allow this behavior in our lives, we start to feel violated or used, setting up resentments against life, people and institutions. However, the opposite spectrum of this, is to reactively throw up a wall because our boundaries have been violated, closing us off to any further potential with that entity.
It's often a bit messy when we are finding our voice and learning who we are and what we want. it's even messier when we start actually being that person to the world who has perceived us in a different light. The power is in the balance. When we learn to balance our needs and communicate them effectively without walling off and isolating ourselves entirely. When we learn to use boundaries as a vehicle to get where we want to get iin life rather than a weapon of defense, that's when we experience the shift.
If you have someone in your life that is abusing these boundaries, it's time to throw the old belief system in the garbage and set it on fire. Burn that BRIDGE! I've found that when placing healthy boundaries there were still bosses, jobs, friends and family that continued to violate them, leaving me no option but to burn the bridge, walk away and create a new life. Sometimes those smoldering embers are a sign that you should head a different direction.