We all do this in one way or another. We walk (or run) around the blocks of our lives over and over, obeying rules that are written, implied, or simply imagined, getting hooked by ways of being and doing that don’t serve us. I often say that we act like wind-up toys, repeatedly bumping into the same walls, never realizing there may be an open door just to our left or our right. Even when we acknowledge that we’re hooked and could use some help, the people we turn to—family, friends, kindly bosses, therapists—aren’t always helpful. They have their own issues, limitations, and preoccupations.
