THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WANTING TO LEAVE
For years, I’ve had the mindset that I can pick up my entire life and leave. I have some furniture and my two cats, but other than that, I have no long-term commitments. I love the idea that I can leave whenever I want and essentially start over somewhere new. I love the feeling of freedom and the ability to mold my life into whatever I want it to be in whatever season I’m in. However, part of me worries that I’ll be stuck in this mindset forever. Will I always feel this way? Will I always want to leave, or will I ever feel fulfilled with what I do next?
For a long time, I thought I was the problem. I thought I was the only one with this mindset. I asked myself if there was something I was running from — commitment, security, passivity. I’m not sure.
The conflicting part is that I truly love the life I’ve built here in College Station. I have a great group of friends, a great job, and a great apartment. So what’s the problem? After some thought, I don’t think there necessarily is one. I think that as you grow up, you begin to understand what’s truly important to your happiness.
I love the quote that some people come into your life for a season, a reason, or a lifetime. I think that idea applies to every aspect of life — including your job and where you live. While College Station has given me so much, I feel this chapter of my life nearing its end. Still, in the back of my mind, I think about everything I’d be leaving behind, and that doubt makes it hard to know what to do next.
Eventually, I realized many of my answers came from asking a different question. Instead of asking what I’m leaving behind, I began asking: What am I running toward?
The psychology of wanting to leave isn’t about running away from something, but chasing something else — adventure, personal growth, new opportunities. Reading that healed something inside me that I didn’t even realize was broken. I hope anyone reading this understands that wanting to move on doesn’t mean you’re leaving something behind; it means you’re choosing what’s ahead and being brave enough to run toward it.
