Knowing When to Swim Sideways
Not all pulls are meant to be followed.
There are tides that hold you gently, guide you inward, and anchor you in truth.
And then, there are rip currents that are fast, forceful, and disorienting.
At first, you might confuse it for something good: a rush of excitement, a deep connection, intensity that feels like passion.
But pay attention.
If it’s pulling you too far, too fast…
If you can’t catch your breath…
If you feel like you’re being swept away from your peace, your truth, your center…
That’s not love. That’s a rip current.
There are seasons when something, a person, a job, a dream, pulls us off course.
It looks like movement, but it’s actually escape.
It feels like connection, but it’s really avoidance.
Rip currents are deceptive like that.
They don’t announce themselves.
They lure you with the illusion of progress while quietly dragging you from solid ground.
Learning to recognize that pull — and resist it — is a life skill.
Sometimes the bravest thing isn’t holding on.
It’s swimming sideways and finding your way back to shore.
As women, we’re taught to endure. To explain away discomfort.
To stay in the current, hoping it will calm.
But motherhood, and womanhood, teach us discernment.
To know the difference between sacrifice and self-abandonment.
Not every tide deserves your trust.
Not every pull deserves your loyalty.
And your children learn by watching how you swim.
In business, not every fast success is safe.
Not every opportunity is aligned.
If something feels off, if it pulls you away from your values, your mission, your voice, that’s your signal.
Don’t swim harder. Swim smarter.
Redirect. Reground. Reset.
You don’t have to drown for your dream.
“Real connection won’t rip you away from yourself, it will guide you back to yourself.” – Patti Jewel
He made me feel something, but I was never sure what.
He moved fast, said all the right things, made it feel urgent.
But I wasn’t at ease.
I felt the tug, but not the trust.
Love shouldn’t feel like survival.
Just Keep Walking. Step with Love. Always forward.
