Pass the Thousand Cuts
You reach the next level when the cycle of small abuses is no longer part of your life—and you feel no regret for having left it behind.
People talk about resilience as if it’s about staying in the fight. Grit your teeth, endure the blows, and keep going. But there’s another level—and it doesn’t look like that at all.
Three things signal you’ve crossed it:
- The cuts are gone. You’re not being chipped at anymore, not living inside a cycle of small abuses. You stepped out, and the blades don’t reach you.
- There’s no regret. Walking away felt hard at the time. But later you see it clearly: leaving was not loss, it was release.
- Peace feels normal. What once consumed energy doesn’t even register now. No struggle, no fight—just space.
That’s when you know you’ve moved on. Not because you’re stronger, but because the wounds are no longer part of your life.
Takeaway: The next level isn’t surviving the cuts—it’s outgrowing the place where they happen.
