The crazy thing about the spirit of offense is it convinces you that you’re protecting yourself, when it’s actually imprisoning you. It often pairs with the spirits of pride and hyper-vigilance to ensure you remain overly suspicious, and constantly on the defense. It makes you interpret every comment, delayed text, or shift in tone as a personal attack. Offense teaches you to build walls and call those walls “discernment.” Here are 5 signs you are bound by a spirit of offense

How you start your day usually sets the tone for the rest of your day. You know how it goes. The alarm goes off, and instead of easing into the morning, your brain immediately starts spinning—replaying yesterday’s mistakes, stressing over everything on your to-do list, and worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet. Before you’ve even brushed your teeth or had your first sip of coffee, you’re already in frantic mode. Sound familiar? When you forget to actively rene