Growth is hard but necessary when you’ve outgrown your life. It can be scary and requires you to stretch yourself into the unfamiliar. It demands that you take risks by leaving the known and comfortable behind. It also requires that you make yourself vulnerable because there can be a failure with any type of growth.
It can be downright terrifying to leave your old life behind BUT the alternative is even scarier because staying stagnant is soul-crushing. When you know you’re meant for more but choose to stay where you’re at it leads to depression – always!
Here’s a scary but sobering thought – what if at the end of your life you realize that you played it safe and left dreams unfulfilled? How would it feel to have that regret? It’s terrifying when you think about it that way, isn’t it?
Use that thought as a catalyst to push you through the fear of growth.
Here are 12 BIG signs you’ve outgrown your life…
1. You can no longer relate to the people around you
When you begin to realize that you have nothing to talk about with the people you surround yourself with it’s a sure sign you’ve outgrown them. You may stop enjoying the activities you previously participated in with these people and communication feels like a struggle.
Your friends, family, and others might start making comments to you that you’ve changed. Be prepared that they likely won’t be happy about it.
When others start telling you that you’ve changed it’s a huge compliment! It means that you’re growing!
Not everyone is meant to be part of your life story forever. It’s ok to release the people you’ve outgrown to move forward with your life.
2. Everyone around you is changing
On the other hand, another sign you’ve outgrown your life is if EVERYONE around YOU is changing!
If your friends and family are making all kinds of changes in their lives and you’re sitting alone on some barstool it’s time to take inventory of your life.
Why aren’t you making positive changes too?
You’ve outgrown this old life of yours so set some goals and take action!
3. You have a constant feeling of discontent
You’ve outgrown your life when you start feeling consistent dissatisfaction with it. It’s a HUGE sign if you were previously content with the same circumstances.
Maybe your current life no longer challenges you in the way it once did. When we don’t feel challenged, life feels mundane and depression creeps in.
Feeling discontentment with your life is no way to live. Listen to that inner voice telling you it’s time to make changes and grow.
A good question to ask yourself when you feel discontent is “what WOULD make me happy”. When you’re feeling down it’s easy to focus on what you don’t like about your life so asking yourself GOOD questions is key!
4. You’re interested in different things
When you start to become interested in different activities, it’s a sign you’ve outgrown your life.
It’s totally normal and healthy to be interested in new things BUT when you become interested in activities that vastly deviate from your usual ones it’s a sign that you’re outgrowing your current life.
Follow the inclination to engage in new things. It keeps life fresh and exciting!
5. You’re bored with your life
You might be bored with your job or career. Maybe you’re bored with your relationships and the activities you used to love.
If your days feel dull, you’re ready to shake your life up!
It’s one thing to feel bored here and there but being bored EVERY DAY of your life is an awful way to live and a glaringly huge sign you’ve outgrown your life!
Check out this post on helpful ways to cure your boredom
6. You have new goals that are vastly different than your current life
Having goals and working toward them is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself!
BUT if your new goals would totally change the course of your life, you’ve likely outgrown your life.
7. You fantasize about having a different life
If you’re constantly daydreaming about the way you wish your life was, that’s a sure sign you’ve outgrown your life.
If you were obsessed with the life you have then you wouldn’t be consistently envisioning a different one.
Maybe you think about living in a new city, having a new job, having different relationships, and/or new hobbies.
Recognize that you’ve outgrown your life and make those fantasies a reality!
8. You feel like you’re going through the motions
This is a BIG sign you’ve started to outgrow your life.
If you wake up every day with zero enthusiasm and move throughout the day on autopilot, you’re ready for huge life changes.
I’ve had points in my life where I was just getting through the day simply existing. It’s a horribly depressing way to live.
Don’t accept a mundane life for yourself. Make the changes necessary to get excited about your days!
9. You start trying to fill a void
Maybe you’re doing it with shopping, food, alcohol, sex, etc. This one can be hard to identify because you might just think you have a lack of discipline or control.
Take inventory of the thoughts you’re having when you’re tempted to engage in your addiction. Are you trying to numb feelings of dissatisfaction with your life?
10. Your vision board is 100% unrelated to any part of your current life
This was a HUGE eye-opener for me. When I created my vision board in the New Year it was TOTALLY different than the life I am living. I have since begun to take steps to make my vision board my reality.
What does your vision board look like? Is it TOTALLY different than your current life? If so, you’ve likely outgrown your life.
What can you do to start making your vision board a reality?
11. You stop having fun at activities you previously enjoyed
If you no longer enjoy the things you used to then it’s likely you’ve outgrown your life.
We aren’t meant to do the same things forever (or at least we shouldn’t).
When you start becoming bored with your current activities it means you aren’t the same person you once were. You’re changing and that’s a good thing!
12. You’re jealous
If you were obsessed with the life you have you wouldn’t feel jealous of others. Rather, you’d feel happy for them and their success.
When you love your life, you can genuinely celebrate other’s accomplishments. You don’t creep social media wishing you had someone else’s life. In fact, you don’t creep social media at all because you are too busy living.
Studies show that there is a link between looking at the lives of others on social media and clinical depression.
Recognize that you’ve outgrown your life and start working toward creating a life you love rather than envying others.
If you enjoyed this post you might also like my post, 15 Best Ways to Reinvent Yourself Right Now
Jen Ryan (me!) is a Certified Life Coach with a Masters in Social Work. If you’re ready to uplevel your life book your FREE 30-Minute Discovery Call HERE. It’s a no-strings-attached call where we will discuss where you are now and were you want to go.
I have definitely been feeling number 5 and number 8 lately with this stuck at home situation!
I’m definitely feeling it too! It’s such a weird time we’re in! We’re social creatures and having to disengage from everyone and the world is super challenging. Hang in there x
I love this!! I believe a lot of us don’t like thinking about leaving our “old life” behind and we tend to avoid change. But sometimes, it’s really necessary to move on in order to grow. Such an awesome post 🙂
Thanks Taylor! I love the feedback 🙂
I feel like I got to that point with some of my Uni friends, especially after I graduated. My worldview was slightly changed by the different social circles I got inton and things I started being exposed to, for the better. When I met up for catchups my Uni friends would always want to chat about Uni life and do activities we did but I didnt had the same appetite. I even started to realise that the way those friends treated me was more for their convenience than anything else, and that was interesting. It was all part of the process of growing up and stepping into the real world.
Thank you for sharing your experience! Sounds like you definitely outgrew you social circle. As I said in the post, I truly believe there are people who aren’t meant to be part of our life story forever. It also sounds like they weren’t happy with the changes you made – it’s a compliment! It means that they were stagnant and you were growing! It’s fantastic you continued to grow rather than shrink when you noticed your friends unhappy with the change x