7 Signs You’re Moving on From Your Ex

Photo by Madison Oren on Unsplash

Are you completely over them?

A little while ago, I received what I can only call a relief phone call from a dear friend. The minute I picked up the phone, I could tell that my friend was elated!

Without skipping a beat, she said, “Laura, I think I’m over him.” “Well, good for you!” I said.

I was curious though and asked her “What’s shifted for you?”

She then proceeded to tell me how she had listened to a song during her workout and had only realised a few hours later that it was her ex’s favourite song. Previously, the first bar of this track would send her spiralling.

You see, the reason why getting over an ex can seem like a hurdle is that we pour so much of our entire being; our essence into our relationships.

Once they end, we get into a grieving phase. The good news is, while the loss of a relationship can be painful, we do know that with time, some inner work and addressing a few vital elements, it won’t last forever. So then, how do you figure out that you’re over them for good?

I’ll tell you what to look out for.

1.     Spending time with mutual friends doesn’t bother you

It’s ok to hang out with you and your ex’s mutual friends, but there’s a catch. You can only tell whether or not you’ve moved on if you’re not interested in having conversations dominated around your ex, and have no curiosity or interest in finding out how they’re doing. If you don’t care to know details about your ex’s current life, this is a sure sign that you’re moving on or have moved on.

2.     You don’t stalk them on social media

Once we’ve broken up with someone, it’s easy to fall into the trap of stalking our ex-partner on social media. You want to know every single detail of their life, whether they’re seeing someone, whether they seem happy without you, or simply whether they’re ok.

If there’s one way to ensure that you don’t move on from a relationship quickly, it’s following your ex and engaging with them on social media. The best way to ensure that you get over them faster is to detach. Later down the line if something your ex posts feels indifferent or doesn’t bother you, this is a very positive indication that you’re truly over them.

3.     You don’t think about them anymore

If your mind constantly wanders to the things you and your ex used to do together or say to each other, you’re probably still in that grieving stage. However, if the thought of them rarely crosses your mind or if it does, it doesn’t trigger much of an emotional reaction, the chances are that you have moved on from them.

Remember, it’s more than ok - and natural, to think about your ex once in a while. However, what would have been romantic feelings should be replaced by simply memories if you’ve moved on.

4.     You’re doing more of what you want to do and what makes you happy

If you’re doing more of the things that you loved doing before you met your partner or newly discovered activities that make you happy, chances are that you’ve moved on from your ex. Once you resume a healthy routine that engages you and regain a sense of normality in your day to day, this is an incredibly positive sign.

Maybe you will also find yourself creating an entirely new schedule that’s more in line with your life now, but whatever it is you’re doing, as long as it doesn’t look and feel like you’re tied up to your ex in everything you’re doing, you’re moving on!

5.     You’re interested in someone else

It isn’t always wise to get into a new relationship immediately after a breakup. However, if the idea of going on dates and meeting new people excites you, you’re probably ready for it and have moved on from your ex.

When you’re interested in someone else, it means you’ve already resolved the feelings that came with the breakup. If you’re focused on your ex, it won’t be easy to move on or even be interested in meeting other people.

Sometimes, you might feel like you’re dating simply for the sake of going through the motions. However, you have to remember that there are other people that can make you as happy as your ex did.

6.     You Prioritise Self-care

The truth is that you’re not moving on unless you’re taking care of yourself. Focusing on those core principles of getting enough sleep, drinking water, being mindful of your physical health and generally taking care of yourself. This is where self-care comes in.

You have to take care of your body, mind and spirit. Prioritising self-care is vital if you want to build resilience towards the stressors of life that you cannot avoid - which often includes at some point, a tough breakup.

Once you dial in on your mind, body, and soul - and also adding those extra feel-good pick-me-ups including good skincare (a new personal favourite of mine being Strip Makeup and skincare) and dressing in a way that makes you feel confident and empowered - you will be in a better position to live life to the fullest.

The truth is that self-care isn’t a luxury. It’s a basic need none of us can live without. Without prioritising self-care, we end up feeling fatigued and overwhelmed. Once this is a priority for you, you know that you’re well on your way to moving on from your ex!

7.     Seeing that they’ve moved on is ok

The truth is that once a relationship falls apart, both of you have to move on. The only difference is that you will move on at different paces. When you’re still heartbroken over the loss of a relationship, you’ll probably feel sadness, anger or even betrayal if you were to learn that your ex has moved on.

However, if you’ve also moved on, them getting into a new relationship doesn’t seem to trigger you and you might feel a tinge of sadness, but you don’t dwell. Sometimes, you might also even be happy that they have moved on now that you’ve had the time and space to process, reflect and regain your own identity and life in your own right.

Although these are some of the main indications that you’ve moved on from your breakup and ex, remember that most times, you won’t need an entire list to tell you.

You will feel it and know it deep inside your gut - so trust that instinct and go with it.

If you're Struggling because your Ex has Moved On, Read This

Pic taken by http://www.heysaturday.co/

I receive many emails and speak to so many people I work with who are so petrified that when their ex moves on, that they will be forgotten, that this other person they're with will FINALLY be the one to change them and get the BEST of them.

I’ve written about this before but I really don’t think it can be said enough.

I’m here to tell you again that 99% of the time, this simply isn’t the case at all.

If you’ve been through a breakup, regardless of who you’re ex is dating, sleeping with or actually in a relationship with now, the very nature of the breakup happening means that something pretty substantial wasn’t right between the two of you.

Oftentimes, we look for the most immediate thing that will dull the pain of heartache. For some that’s food or substances. For others it’s social media, Netflix or TV. Much of the time, it’s other people that we look to as the solution to heartbreak. Sometimes it can be a toxic cocktail of a few things.

Some people will look to date and date and date to numb the overwhelming emotion they’re feeling about the breakup. Partly because they can’t deal with the breakup and to fill the void of not having you in their life any more. Mainly though, because they can’t deal with the root cause of what’s going on with themselves emotionally.

Most of the people I speak who are going through a breakup have experienced a relationship that was full of drama. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. Their ex has displayed narcissistic tendencies, completely blindsided them, consistently treated them badly or acted out of character. All of these things reveal much more going on beneath the surface. The breakup (which let me assure you - needed to happen if this was the case) was merely a signpost to what’s truly going on and getting with someone else quicker than me to a new episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is their attempt at ignoring the signpost and running in the other direction. Getting a high from something and someone else to avoid the true source of their pain.

What you need to know when you're worrying about them being with someone else, is that a person can’t change another person. All might be rosy in the garden of romance now between them and their new boyfriend/girlfriend but those old patterns that you witnessed probably time and time over like groundhog day will gradually start to reappear in this new relationship or dynamic too. It’s currently serving as a quick fix. The new person won’t get the ‘best’ of them and you won’t be ‘missing out’ because they don’t have the power to create that in your ex. Just like you don’t, which is why getting back together isn’t the answer either.

So instead of focusing on your ex and the new guy/girl, even though it will feel like the hardest thing to do, you have to focus on what’s important in this moment. You. If you’re totally consumed by thoughts of your ex, maybe you’re missing the signpost too? Maybe there’s a piece of you that can recognise in yourself what I’ve described above? When I say this I say it with absolute compassion, and it doesn't mean that you were to blame. Not at all. But are you looking to getting your ex back as the solution to your pain? I know you might believe that getting back together will be the answer, but it won’t. All that will do is act as a temporary cover up so that you both don’t have to address what’s really going on as individuals. That is where the real change can only take place.

So the work isn’t in worrying if your ex will suddenly change now that he's with someone else, a ploy to make him/her see what they’re missing or get them back. The work and true reward is in delving deep to the core of yourself and focusing on cultivating your own self-love, self-esteem, boundaries and inner wisdom.

I know that everyone wants a sexy quick fix. But honestly, it’s not the answer. I can assure you though, that what’s on the other side of self-discovery, trusting your intuition and actually trusting yourself, your worth and your abilities to then instil those boundaries and live with authentic intention by them, is far sweeter than getting back into a relationship that was broken. Where the one or two people in it are more willing to ride out over and over something that’s sub-standard than to step away and do the work that will lead to something so much more real and beautiful for each of them.

Like many things, it’s harder short-term but the reward is far greater.

Whilst your ex isn't willing to do the work right now, you can be. You can come through this happier, wiser, more intentional, assured, confident and at peace with yourself.

If you choose to.

It doesn't mean you will suddenly forget your ex and not have these thoughts. Not at all. That's ok though because you are not your thoughts and you have the ability to choose what you do with those thoughts and how you react to them.

What it does mean, is that you will be taking full ownership of your own emotional health and happiness. Those thoughts of your ex will start to fade bit by bit once you start to put yourself at the centre stage of your life.

I want you to, as you deserve so much more. 💖

If you would like more 1:1 help with getting over your ex, I offer a Move On From Your Ex Rewiring Power Hour, where I will introduce you to a range of tools and techniques that will help you to rewire your thought patterns to be able to let go of your ex. You can book that here.

I also have my audio product on this topic, which you can find here https://www.laurayates.org/shop/getting-over-your-ex-moving-on-audio

Love,

Laura x

PS I'm sharing tons of live video content and behind the scenes of my own life and learnings over on Facebook! You can find me here https://www.facebook.com/laura.yates/

I also have my private group (this one is for girls only) here called Girl Chat with Laura where I share more videos and content geared towards women. Request to join and I will add you!

How to Deal with Feelings of Rejection

One of the hardest (and most long-lasting) challenges to deal with after a break-up is undoubtedly the feeling of rejection. Maybe you were cheated on, maybe you were broken up with out of the blue, maybe they said they didn't love you anymore. Well it's obvious isn't it? You weren't good enough.

Well no, this is quite wrong. The thing is, we get so used to perceiving things not working out in the way we hoped as 'being rejected' that it becomes instilled in us. We didn't get the job because we weren't as clever as the successful candidate, we weren't let into the popular crowd at school because we weren't pretty enough…..The thing to understand is that it isn't a direct response to us being good or not good enough. It's more about where the other person is at, what they need/are looking for at the time or it can just be the situation. Not a direct attack on us and our worth.

Whatever though, we still feel it. I know in a relationship that I was in I was consumed by the idea that I wasn't good enough. This was never really the case at all - it was just a story I was telling myself. I was just reacting to the way the other person was behaving and convinced myself that he was acting that way because I wasn't good enough. The truth is, that's just the way he was in a relationship. It wasn't always fair on me or right but it wasn't because he didn't think I was good enough for him. And if you are feeling like this in a relationship it's really important to get a grasp on why that is. Are you feeling unnecessarily insecure or paranoid about the other person? In which case you'll be giving off that vibe which will put pressure on the relationship and might actually end in your partner wanting to finish it. So maybe you just need to relax into it more and focus on the things in your life that make you feel great outside of the relationship so you're not obsessing purely on that. Think about whether the feeling of rejection is actually coming from something in you rather than as a result of what the other person is doing/not doing. Or are you being made to feel rejected because you're being treated badly? In which case, take control. It's not because you're not good enough, it's because your boyfriend/girlfriend is probably just a (insert your choice of word here ;) )

If after a break-up you're still consumed by these feelings of rejection, it can be useful to sit down and really think about it logically and realistically. Write down exactly why you are feeling rejected and what actual evidence there is to support that. Here are some thoughts that might then change your mindset a little when doing this. Even if you were broken up with, that doesn't mean you weren't 'good enough'. It means that the relationship wasn't right in whatever way that is for the other person. Relationships are dynamic and life has so many twists and turns and we often don't communicate enough. We're not always on the same bus as our partner. Sometimes a relationship for one person has just run its course or they feel they can't offer you what you need. That's not because of you being less than them though. They're just in a different place to where you are and they want or need something else. And although it's really painful now, them ending it is much better than continuing because they don't want to hurt you or would prefer to stay in a relationship that they're not happy with just because that’s easier than the alternative.

If you were cheated on or betrayed in some way, this is awful to deal with. But it says far more about them than you. You probably desperately love them still and are torturing yourself about whether it was because you weren't attractive enough or not to their standards or whatever you think the reason behind it was. The harsh truth is if someone can betray you in that way, they're not a good fit for you. Don't obsess about why they ran off with the other person. It's hard to do but a completely negative use of emotional time. What you need to do is amp up how you feel about yourself and take a step outside of those negative obsessive thoughts. It's unrealistic to just say 'forget about it and move on' though so try committing for 1 week. Try putting these thoughts aside as much as you can. Place putting yourself first and doing things to make yourself feel good as a priority for 7 little days - do something every day no matter how small it is and then see if that feeling of rejection has lifted, even a little by the end of the week. See if your view on it has changed.

The more we obsess over thoughts of rejection the more we immerse ourselves in them, build them up and the more real they seem. We then accept them as so and don't do any of the work to change how we feel which then ends up in feelings of rejection lasting for months or even years. What we often fail to see if that it's actually more about the other person or the circumstances and far less about us. Think to a time when you ended a relationship or decided against dating someone. I bet it was because they or the relationship didn't match what you wanted at that time rather than because they weren't good enough or that you saw them as less than you. The thought of them wallowing in rejection because of that would probably seem nuts to you?! It's also handy to remember that sometimes we don't know how to express our own wants and needs to someone else in this type of situation. It's always awkward knowing the best way to tell someone which can often result in us unintentionally doing it the wrong way (brushing them off or ignoring them for example which of course, doesn't make the other person feel great!) instead of just being honest and possibly avoiding the other person taking it so personally and feeling like we've rejected them.

Also, if you were broken up with because of a specific behaviour you displayed or a build up of behaviours that were addressed but didn't change and led to your ex ending the relationship, don't take this as rejection either. It's just a wake up call that you probably need to work on what this issue is to prevent it happening again. Don't stew in rejection if it's something you can be proactive about changing.

Feelings of rejection can be incredibly tough to deal with and is such a complex topic that I'd love to expand more on. But I hope this might help anyone who is struggling as a starting point.