I’m Living the Dream, and there’s no where to hide
One thing you don’t fully appreciate until you have quit your job to follow your dream is that now the job is out of the way, there is nothing stopping you…
It’s simple — all day you’re dreaming about how you want to be a writer, or open a bakery or become a travel guide. You think,
“if only I could find a way to get out of this job, then I would be free to get on with my dream.”
So after months of planning, organising and saving, the big day finally comes — you hand in your notice (the letter has been written for ages). You feel complete and utter elation!
A few weeks later, you’ve had your last day, your leaving drinks, and your good luck card. And you wake up in the morning and it’s amazing. You think,
“I can do anything I want today.”
So you do. You go to yoga class, meet friends for lunch, have naps at 3 in the afternoon, because you can.
And it’s wonderful.
But after a while, you realise that the dream is not progressing quite as fast as you’d imagined. You’ve got a bit stuck at the planning stage. When you think about it too much you start to wonder whatever made you think you could succeed.
Without a job to hide behind, you realise you’re the thing holding you back. You think,
“Now what…?”
It has been one of the most challenging aspects of becoming freelance. Face to face with self doubt and lack of confidence, it turns out there is more to living the dream than leaving the job.
I have not yet worked out any magic formula for dealing with this. I make time for a daily moment of gratitude to remember all the fabulous things I have to be thankful for. I meditate and practise yoga to provide a moment of calm reflection every day.
But freed from the well-worn path of career success, the landscape either side is not obviously navigable. There are days when I meander the hills and valleys for the sheer pleasure of it, and others when I look back at the path with a twinge of yearning for its simplicity.
Of course, I am incredibly grateful to have such choices available to me, and so glad I made the decision I have. However, one thing I’ve learned for sure is that taking the first step towards living the dream means honestly facing yourself, perhaps for the first time, and discovering a way to accept the person that you find.
