Do What You Love ~
Consider what you do all day long. Perhaps you work in a traditional Mon – Fri job. Maybe you’re a stay-at-home mother. You might be an entrepreneur or business owner. Or perhaps you're retired.
Whatever you do with your days, are you doing what you love? Or, are you staying in a role you don’t love because it’s easier to stay than to seek out what you really want?
If you’re working in a job outside home that you don’t love, you might feel that your bills are being paid, so it’ll do. Or, you might have a really good benefit package that’s keeping you in a job you don’t love.
I meet women all the time that are unhappy and unfulfilled in their current role.
Whether it’s a job outside the home that they’re in, or they’re retired and aren’t enjoying this phase of life. Or, they’ve made the decision to stay home to raise their children and now find themselves miserable.
I graduated high school with high hopes from my family that I would attend University, get a degree in something that would make everyone proud, then secure a good job. This meant working in a traditional Mon - Fri job with good earnings and a strong benefit package. It would be the job I would be at until I retired with my great pension.
Shortly after high school ended, I remember sitting at the dining table filling out the forms for University and intuitively knowing that this wasn’t for me. Thankfully, I listened to that voice and had the courage to stop filling out those forms. Instead, I enrolled in Cosmetology school and trained to become a hairdresser, much to the disappointment of my family. Disappointment that I was clearly made aware of. My choice in career didn't meet the expectations that were set forth for me.
I knew I was disappointing those around me with my decision, and I did it anyway.
After graduating, I worked in hairdressing industry for over 10 years. All the while, never being able to reach my full potential in that profession. Each time I began to feel a little bit of success, the tape would replay in my mind all that been told to me about why this career choice wasn't ‘the right one.’
At the time I was courageous enough to own my truth and choose the career I wanted. However, I wasn’t yet strong enough to heal the hurt and shame that I felt, knowing that my decision disappointed others. And during all those years, deep within, I held onto the belief that what I was doing wasn't considered a real job and most certainly, not a good job.
Fast forward to today and I’ve come a long way.
I now know that we often seek out what is expected of us or what we think will bring us happiness or fulfillment. We believe it’s the outside things that create this for us, when in fact, happiness and fulfillment are cultivated on the inside. For more on creating happiness, click here.
Many will allow their job title, earnings and/or benefit plan to define them.
And many forget that they’re allowed to choose what they do with their time AND they’re allowed to change their mind at given moment and pivot to something different.
So often we make decisions for our life because of what we think we’re supposed to do or what others want us to do. All too often we’ll keep ourselves stuck in that role because we don’t know:
- that we have the right to choose something different and pivot
- how to get out of the cycle we’re living in
For example, if you’ve secured a good job for yourself that pays very well and comes with a nice benefits package and retirement plan. Then the earnings are often used consuming all the things that usually come after the good job is secured. A big house with lots of stuff to fill the space, a nice vehicle, fancy vacations, etc.
Often this will feel good, for a while.
However, of it wasn’t what you truly desired and wanted to begin with OR if it was and your desires/wants have changed, it won’t be long before the house no longer seems good enough. The vehicle becomes too old. The days at work start feeling longer and the countdown to the fancy vacation destination, feels like an eternity. All the ‘stuff’ that's been acquired is no longer 'good enough' and the belief is that ‘better things’ are needed.
This is when you can find yourself stuck in a cycle. A cycle of needing the job to continue the lifestyle you’ve created, based on that job. Feeling stuck and unable to pursue what you really want to do, if you've even figured out what that is. It can be difficult to know that when you’re in the pattern of using outside things to numb out your unsatisfied feelings with your life. You could be too disconnected from yourself to even know what you really want.
And note that you can easily find yourself in the cycle even without a traditional job. Maybe you really wanted to be at home with your kids and then after a while changed your mind. You might not know that you’re allowed to change your mind. Or perhaps you have no idea what else you could do instead.
Perhaps you’re retired and you’re feeling unhappy and unfulfilled. You thought you’d love retirement, and actually you don’t. Or, maybe you did for while, and now you aren’t.
Think about this...
Think about how many hours you’re awake in a day. If you work a full-time job, how many hours a week you work in that role.
Your time is valuable. What you do with it matters.
How you use your energy throughout the day matters.
You get one chance to live this life in the body that you’re in.
I know so many women (and men) who’ve become complacent in life. Just going through the motions, floating through, rather than actually living it. Perhaps at some point on your path, you too, had the same intuitive knowing that what you were about to do wasn’t for you. You might not have felt the courage then to own your truth, however maybe today you feel differently. Or you might be having that intuitive moment right now. For more on connecting with your intuition, click here.
Life is so forgiving. It always, without fail, gives us a clean slate with each new day that we awake to. How fabulous is that?!
You have permission to change your mind.
You’re allowed to pivot.
You have permission to live your truth.
It’s your life and you get to live it however you choose.
Do what you love every single day. Do what you’re passionate about.
If you don’t know what you love or what you feel passionate about, make it your priority to figure that out. You deserve to live a life that you love, you’re worthy of it.
What did you learn from this blog? Leave a comment and let me know, I'd love to hear from you!
If you love this blog, I'd greatly appreciate you sharing it so that others can benefit from reading it as well. Thank you.
Looking for more tips to help you live well? Check out Your Live Well Journey - The Podcast, every episode offers ways to help you improve your self-care.
Do you want to live your life feeling happier, healthier, and more fulfilled? Click here to learn more about my Coaching Program OR book your FREE private consultation today.
