Last week I went to New York. I had tickets to two Broadway shows in the middle of the week.
I didn't request time off or have to tell anyone where I was going.
I just went.
Not long ago, I would have had to ask permission to go.
That, along with so many other things about working in the corporate/non-profit/education spaces always felt so stifling to me.
But for years, I thought I had to accept feeling stifled, a little bored, and a lot dissatisfied.
"That's just the way it is I guess."
So I kept changing jobs and hoping each one would give me what I wanted.
Fulfillment.
Satisfaction.
Deeply meaningful work.
Nope.
Each job I had, after a while, felt stifling, boring, and meaningless.
And finally, after over a decade, my complacency and low-grade depression turned to anger.
I got pissed.
Pissed at myself for staying small, and buying into the status quo as the only way to live and make a living.
For doubting my gifts and abilities.
For thinking the things that came naturally to me had no value.
And for being too scared of the unknown, and what others would think of me, to finally just freaking surrender.
Surrender to what though?
Surrender to that still-small but pesky-as-hell voice inside that says "there really is more to life than this."
The one that says "you're here to do more than this."
And it also says "you are ready. You have everything you need. Start now. Start small."
A year and a half after walking away from my last full-time job, I can see it so much more clearly now.
Choosing myself, and trusting myself, was the ultimate act of rebellion against the status quo.
Gifting myself more freedom, more abundance, more time, more creativity, and more self-expression, is a massive threat to the system.
The system says, "this is the only way to survive."
It says "without this soul-sucking job, you will starve, and freeze, and die, and disappear."
It turns out that the system is a liar.
It turns out that trusting your inner knowing leads to more abundance of time and money, and satisfaction, and meaningful work.
Give yourself permission to imagine, just for a moment, what you would do if the system weren't so loud in your subconscious. How would you spend your days?
Maybe you would quietly make art that touches people's hearts, as well as your own.
Maybe you would write, or speak, or serve, or create, or contemplate, or learn, or heal, or solve.
Chances are, if you've made it this far, you are here to forge your own path in this life.
I dare you to be brave enough to imagine what that might look like for you.
And, if you're feeling lost, stuck, or confused, you are not alone.
That lost feeling is born out of a deep longing for a truer, more aligned version of you to be let out.
What is one, tiny step you can take today?
The good news is, when you liberate yourself, you show others that liberation is possible.
Stepping into your calling and purpose is an act of rebellion against the status quo.
And I'm here to support you.
Click here if you'd like to talk about it.
XOXO,
Your subversive career friend.