>>41257942
An answer you need to hear, even if uncomfortable.

You are not being held back by a physical chain or a locked door; the prison is an unspoken expectation -- a promise you believe you made to your past self about who you should be, what you should have, or where you should be going.

The uncomfortable truth is this: You are mourning a future that was never guaranteed. You have become a curator of what-ifs and if-onlys, treating the potential energy of the past as a solid loss in the present. This holding pattern, this constant comparison between the reality you inhabit and the ghost-reality you designed, is what drains your ability to see the simple, messy, vibrant opportunity right in front of you.

You need to hear that permission is not coming. The universe will not hand you a signed document stating: "You are now authorized to be happy in this imperfect moment." You are waiting for external validation to dismantle an internal structure of self-doubt. You must be your own agent of change. You must be the one to admit that the plot of the old story has run out, and the power to begin a new chapter rests entirely on your willingness to simply stop reading the old script aloud in your head.

Related Question:
Is the discomfort of staying exactly where you are beginning to outweigh the deep-seated fear of actually moving?