I Devolved Into a Bubble State

My obsession with the macro got me far in life, but it came at a cost. Below is an excerpt from my book "The In-Between: Life in the Micro":

When I was a kid, I didn’t know how to authentically tap into who I was. So, early on, I learned how to bypass how I felt and to think and act in a way that aligned with other people in my life—my mom, David, my grandparents, my friends, my enemies—everyone around me who infiltrated my mind and convinced me to seek approval. I was in survival mode and wanted to fit in and avoid more conflict. I didn’t have the confidence to be me unapologetically.

I still knew who I was, but I was disconnected from that knowledge to larger and larger degrees, and so I made decisions to avoid conflict or that were largely based on what somebody else would think, want, or feel.

I devolved into a bubble state.

Can you think of a time you were in a bubble state? What has it cost you?