Extract Yourself

Embody Chris Hemsworth

Remain where you are not wanted, and soon enough, there will be nobody to want.

— Unknown

Did you watch the Hollywood movie titled Extraction? Where Chris Hemsworth, the actor was hired to embark on a grave, almost impossible mission to rescue the son of an international crime lord who had just been kidnapped?

You have been kidnapped and overtaken, and you need such an extraction, but the only difference here is that you, the kidnapped, will also double as Chris Hemsworth, the rescuer.

---

You have let yourself grow moth in an environment that has taken absolute control of you, that you don't even have any control over the only thing you're supposed to have control over anymore; yourself.

You have been entangled in a lot of relationships, environments, systems, beliefs, cults that have hemmed you down from becoming all that you can be.

You have been kidnapped, overtaken, willingly become unconscious of the uniqueness of you, and as a result, you've become just another human on the face of the planet, of no consequence — inconsequential; of no value — valueless; and of no conviction — soulless, homeless.

You need an extraction.

An extraction from relationships that do you no good, from friends who only receive from you and never give, materials, value, ideas, whatever it is.

Relationships are meant to be reciprocal and transformational. If you're not getting value but keep depleting yourself of value for people with no value, you'd find yourself drained to death soon enough.

Will it hurt? Yes. Extractions are meant to hurt. Ask Chris. They are tough work, but they have to be done.

You need an extraction from an environment that is not helping you grow. If you're stuck in a place that had limited your growth, your impact, your visibility, your progress and development as a person, you need an extraction.

Get out of that apartment. Get out of that job. Get out of that congregation. Get out of that department. Get out of that city. Get out of that group. Get out of that country if you can. If you do not, you'd continue to let yourself be controlled by forces that will take you to where you'd rather not go. Extract yourself.

Extract yourself from that belief. I understand the need to hold on to "ancient landmarks", and I respect that. You're absolutely valid, but if you have read my book, TRAPPED, you'd realize that even ancient landmarks can be wrong. That it is ancient doesn't mean it is right. That it is ancient doesn't mean it is true, kind, helpful, or even human.

Our ancestors didn't have it all figured out, I mean, how funny is it that we'd be some people's 'ancestors' too in the distant future. Imagine them trying to quote us as authorities for the life we lived. I can see you laughing. 😂

If the belief you are holding on to today isn't working for your growth, don't stay hemmed in because that's what your dad and his dad before him believed. Try something else. Extract yourself.

You can change, and who knows, your progress might simply be waiting for your decision to change.

Change course. Extract yourself. Don't give in to the sunk cost fallacy that makes you keep investing in something that isn't working because you've invested a lot in it and you don't want to see it "waste". Take a page from what Chelsea's current owners are going through.

You can extract yourself from your career if it's hindering your growth and fulfilment. You can get off that path and recourse. The only thing constant is change.

Don't lose any more ground just because you don't want the grounds you've covered to be a waste. Extract yourself.

All of these things represent strongholds in our lives. Our relationships, our environment, our belief system, our convictions, our path in life.

We'll be making a very big mistake if we don't deliberately choose them and own them. Our lives will become mundane if we do not extract ourselves from things that do not put value into us, things that hinder us from our growth.

"But I'm going to hurt them," Lol, are you kidding? They are hurting you! It's a matter of survival. How would you feel if at the end of your life, you realize you spent it caring only about the feelings of other people, and not about your own life?

This week, and every week after this, be deliberate. Be Chris Hemsworth. Embark on extractions.

To your growth,

Abiola Okunsanya

Handzinspired.