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This Week’s Parasite: The Post-Win Panic
You know that moment when something finally goes right?
Your relationship feels good.
Work clicks.
You wake up feeling like yourself.
Life is… calm. Stable. Almost suspiciously peaceful.
And then out of nowhere your brain goes:
“Wait. Is this allowed? Should I be bracing for impact? Something bad is probably coming.”
Congratulations.
You’ve met this week’s spiritual parasite:
The Post-Win Panic.
It shows up specifically when you level up, not when you’re struggling.
It’s like the spiritual version of someone coughing on your smoothie the second you start eating healthy.
How This Parasite Operates
This parasite is subtle. It doesn’t yell, it whispers.
“Don’t enjoy this too much.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself.”
“What if it’s all temporary?”
“Careful… happiness attracts disappointment.”
It attaches itself right after a win because that’s the moment your energy expands, and parasites feed on expansion.
If they can make you doubt it, you shrink just enough to stop momentum.
Symptoms to Look For
You may be dealing with this parasite if:
You deflect compliments because they feel “too much”
You get anxious when things stabilize
You wait for the “other shoe to drop” even though no one is holding a shoe
A good moment makes you emotional instead of relaxed
You instantly plan for the worst-case scenario like it’s your part-time job
Receiving feels harder than giving (this one stings, I know)
This parasite thrives wherever you feel unaccustomed to ease.
Why It Shows Up
Because you expanded.
And expansion feels unfamiliar at first.
Sometimes the system treats growth as a threat simply because it’s new, not because it’s wrong.
This parasite doesn’t show up to destroy anything.
It just wants to interrupt your upgrade long enough for you to talk yourself out of it.
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The Antidote: Build Your “Receiving Muscle”
Receiving is actually a skill.
Most people never train it.
This week, try this:
1. When something good happens, stop for 3 seconds. Let it land.
No deflecting.
No “it’s not a big deal.”
Just… let the moment be good.
2. Notice the exact second your brain tries to shrink the joy.
That moment is the parasite trying to hook in.
Call it out. It loses power immediately.
3. Replace the panic with this sentence:
“Good things aren’t warnings. They’re guidance.”
Say it even if you only believe it 40%.
Repetition does the heavy lifting.
4. Do one action that affirms your expansion.
Send the pitch.
Say yes to the opportunity.
Choose the higher version of you — not the familiar one.
Parasites starve when you move forward anyway.
Reflection of the Week
Where in your life do you instantly tense up the moment things go well?
What would happen if you allowed the goodness to just… stay?
Until next week,
Gabi & Bea