When it’s time to reassess, many of us choose to ignore the signs.

Instead, we temporarily alleviate the strain on our energy with various tactics and distractions. There’s no shortage of ways of how we can distract ourselves from an upcoming cycle of change.

We may endlessly scroll through social media and other media channels, engrossed in other people’s lives—fictional and real-life. Some of us over-schedule ourselves with social outings, events, or extracurricular activities. Others go shopping to feel the fleeting high of acquiring new possessions or indulge in other things—only to return back to the status quo that feels decidedly lacking.

And when we attempt to remedy without spending the time to understand what’s the underlying issue, the cycle repeats.

It’s normal to be tired occasionally. It’s totally fine to spend time on social media, or watch a movie or an episode or two. But when your energy seems to drag for more than several weeks into months for no major reason, it’s likely time to start paying attention.

Even with knowing this tendency, I’m not immune.

Lately, I’ve noticed lower energy in the evenings and the desire to immerse myself in my phone. I’ve also been feeling a heightened prerogative for self-care and the little things. It’s almost like I’ve been feeling owed; by nobody in particular and for what, I have no idea. That’s one of my clues that something’s amiss. While treating oneself is good thing to do for self-care, it can also be one of the ways we try to compensate for whatever it may be we’re not addressing.

Knowing when it’s time to reassess doesn’t necessarily come with clarity, at least not at first.

The absence of knowing is normal.

Clarity doesn’t come when you demand it. It often comes in pieces on its own time with a little bit of thought and concerted effort. And in this harried and cluttered digital, social and physical world, it’s all too easy to never get to that concerted effort.

This is exactly why many of us drift along in situations longer than we should.

We don’t know what else could be better, so we do nothing at all. We think we have time to figure it out, so we postpone confronting the hard questions—often for too long at our own expense. We can’t help but feel conflicted on the inside, and so we distract, numb or indulge.

There’s a part of me that feels restless. It’s the part of me that knows it’s almost time to go, but to where I’m not sure.

I don’t know what’s next six months from now, but I know I need to be paying attention right now. While it’s okay to be unsure, I understand the importance of remaining open and asking questions. The absence of knowing isn’t an excuse to indefinitely push out an upcoming shift that due to happen.

The key is to take time to sit still without distractions.

That’s exactly what needs to happen when it’s time to reassess. Amidst constant distraction, it’s almost impossible to make space for what might possibly be next. By being mindful and decluttering distractions, we can become more aware of the natural phases of growth we experience in our lives.