For example, when we are setting boundaries and taking care of ourselves, we may go through a phase of needing to learn how to say no. During this time, we might say no to just about everything, as a way of practicing and exploring this ability. Like a child who starts saying a new word, we want to try out this new avenue of expression and empowerment as much as we can. It is new and exciting for us, and we want to explore it fully. We are mastering a new skill, and eventually, as we integrate it into our overall identity, it will resume its position as one part of our balanced life.
Throughout these phases, we overcompensate for a quality that was
suppressed in our life, and the swinging of the pendulum from under-use
to overuse serves to bring that quality into balance. Understanding
what’s happening is a useful tool that helps us to be patient with the
process. In the end, the pendulum settles comfortably in the center,
restoring balance inside and out. (Daily OM)