** Article written for Six Degrees Society **
I'm going to be honest with you; I'm in no way an expert on this. Some days I actually feel like I'm 27 going on 17. But what I do have is experience; experience in my ever-changing pursuit of happiness, experience in getting up and going when it feels right, and most importantly, experience in failure and learning from it. All these experiences have set me up perfectly for where I am today. Is this what I envisioned 5 years ago? 10 years ago? Not at all!
But I learned years ago that if I wanted a certain life, no one was going to give that to me, I needed to pursue it myself (S/O to Dad for the pep talk). All I hope to do today is inspire you to reassess where your life is currently, and make sure it's a path to your greatest self. After all, we all deserve to wake up feeling inspired!
This is a Story About a Girl Named Lucky....wait, what?
Kidding, but I do feel pretty damn lucky these days. I went from a U.S Senator's Legislative Aide (think more Veep than House of Cards) to a NYC Merchandiser (my life at times feels like a mix of Devil Wears Prada meets Girls). I was a kid straight out of college researching health care policy to brief a Senator on legislation hitting the floor. Incredible opportunity? Yes. Did I want to do this for the rest of my life? Not quite. It took me 2.5 years, though, to finally come to terms with that. Many a night I sat awake in bed, brain vs. heart duking it out. In the end, I had to go deeper and followed my gut. I know...right now you're thinking, Okay crazy, thanks for the talk. But bear with me.
Naturally, human beings have survived listening to this "gut feeling", so why does it seem we've stopped when it comes to our careers? Is it because we are continuously reminded that we've evolved to some superior species? That we're too intelligent and formalised to listen to something so simple as our inner thoughts? That FEAR of FAILURE in the eyes of whoever is watching? I know this is what I was thinking. How would my family of well educated, successful men and women look at me, going back to school for fashion? It was a miserable fear that took a long time to eliminate from my mind, but once I did that (through a variety of methods), I was capable of seeing that my happiness would lead to my success.
Now I'm not telling you to go into work tomorrow and quit with ZERO plan because that's insane. But if you're nodding your head at any of this, then I want you to start listening to your body and your mind. Do you wake up and feel sick to go to work? Or rustle around in bed for hours flustered by your day (next level, are you crying after downing your last bottle of Pinot Grigio)? Has your health deteriorated, or do you find yourself speaking only about the negatives of your job to your friends and family? Again, if you're nodding your head, it's time to take that leap. I've been here a few times, to the deepest, darkest levels of work depression, and it reeaaallllyyy sucks and takes a huge impact on your life. But in the end, we need to put our big girl pants on and deal with our issues head on!
So start visualizing what it is you want most out of life and write it down. If you're not writing down your goals, you will be amazed at the difference it makes. I've started regularly writing every Sunday just to note my successes and failures for the week. However, the initial sit down is the biggest one. Over the years, I've compiled a list of questions to ask myself. Here are a few:
* What Did I Love As a Child & What Do I Love Now
* Who Inspires Me and Why
* What Am I Doing When I Feel My Best
* When I Look Back On My Career, What Do I Want to Say I've Accomplished
* What Is My Ideal Day
* What Do I Find Intolerable
* Ask Acquaintances What They Admire About Me
* What Are My Excuses to Not Achieving My Goals
Now if you answer these questions honestly, I promise you'll start feeling more inspired to find what's right for you. You may even find your clarity. From here, if you don't have your one, five, and 10 year goals written out, you need to do that, as well. Anything pushing you in a forward motion is the right push!
Then start brainstorming on those dream careers! Update that resume and LinkedIn. Start reaching out to people who have that job you dream about and ask for 15 minutes of their time. Even see if you can speak with Recruiters at companies you're interested in. Just slowly begin setting yourself up for that leap. No one likes to leap blindly into the night. Financially, what will it take for you to be ready? 5 months or 5 years? Is this a leap in the same city or a leap across country? When I moved from Washington, D.C. to go back to school in San Francisco, CA, I began setting myself up only three months in advance by simply talking with a family friend who had gone to fashion school. From San Francisco to New York City? Also three months...but that was definitely not on purpose. I had planned for a year. But 'ish happens! And I had to make it work. I immediately started reaching out to individuals living in NY, writing down pros and cons for my move (because deep down I knew I was insane), and obviously applying to jobs. Scarily enough, I was told to wait until I was in NY to begin applying because no one wanted to talk to me from across the country. That's taking a leap of faith. And I did it. I sold all of my stuff, moved to a city where I knew no one, with no job, and enough money to pay for three months of rent. That was my timeline to getting my act together. Three months to get to NYC, three months to get a job. Pressure? I'd say so.
But in the end I knew this was something I deeply wanted, and I would make it work! I believed in myself and my abilities. Was I scared? Scared like hell. If I could explain the panic attacks I had in the weeks coming up to my move, you'd probably think twice about doing it yourself. But it was in those moments I knew what I was doing was the best thing for me. My first six months in NYC have been, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've ever done. But I've also grown and learned more than I ever thought imaginable.
So the next time you catch yourself complaining about your job for the zillionth time, consider why it is you have nothing good to say about it. Perhaps it's time to reset and take life into your own hands. We need to stop blaming everyone else when we feel stuck, and take the initiative to figure out what it is we want out of life! Take that leap of faith, because chances are, your gut feeling is the right one.
