Life Gets Better When You Stop Explaining Yourself
Life Gets Better When You Stop Explaining Yourself: The Radical Freedom of Unexplained Choices Think of the last time you made a choice that felt right to you, but wasn't immediately understood by others. Maybe you left a stable job. Said no to a social event. Ended a relationship that looked perfect from the outside. Changed your mind about a commitment. Now, recall the mental script you immediately began drafting. The justification. The bullet points of logic. The careful framing of your decision to make it palatable, reasonable, and defensible. You rehearsed it for your parents, your friends, your colleagues, and the imaginary jury in your mind that demands a verdict of "not guilty" for the crime of living on your own terms. This compulsion to explain ourselves is more than a habit; it's a deeply ingrained social survival mechanism. We are born into a world that rewards conformity and punishes deviation. As children, our safety depended on the approval of caregiver...