Quit my job and do something I love to do

I currently work in retail. I love retail and I love the company I work for, unfortunately my coworkers and the managers where I work suck. I havent been happy at my current job for a while so I would like to find a different job. But I think instead I am going to use the anger and frustration that I have from my job to push me toward stepping out on my own and starting teaching.

I have a fear of the unknown. I dont like doing things when there isnt a clear cut path of what to do and how to do it. I want to teach belly dance. They dont really have classes on how to do that! lol. So Im trying to come to terms with fact that I will have to just take the leap and do it and learn as I go along.

But my plan is to start squirreling away money so when I get my taxes back next year I can hopefully either quit my job or just drastically cut back on my hours and maybe only work 1 or 2 days a week.

Changes jobs, careers, is huge. The excitement of a new career, an adventure is a phenomenal feeling. I am encouraged and supported by my family, my spouse the make a change. My current position is extermely stressful, highly demanding and is taking over my life. I want so much to change this aspect of my life. I feel guilty the years of studies to earn my degress, change of income, the stress of starting over is overwhelming. I also know though that my current job is not healthy for me, mind, body and soul.
I can not wait to start my new career path. I know there will be some sacrifices along the way, but I have hope and faith that things will fall into place.

I’ve finally done it!

I quit the job that wasn’t fulfilling me, and am now happy to report that I am loving what I’m doing. Of course, there are a few drawbacks, but I think I can work hard and overcome even those.

It feels so good to be challenged in all the right ways.

For February 1st, I am a freelancer web designer!

In exploring what’s stopping me from attaining my “dream career,” I am discovering:
1. That I have a lot of passions, but I haven’t developed really any of them.
2. That I am afraid of failure and success.
3. In regards to the first two, it’s like I’m stagnant.

Well, I’m tired of being stagnant. And I am tired of saying over and over again, “I don’t know.”

Newsflash: I still don’t know, but I’m not as afraid to explore what that is.

What I do know:
1. I love social justice. I love social entrepreneurism. I love social change. I’d love to be a catalyst for more of it.
2. I don’t like as much “social work.” Working one-on-one with people is a phenomenal experience, but it can be so hard to get anywhere with an individual. And as soon as you’re done with one, there are plenty more that need your assistance. And it’s almost like putting a band-aid on the real problem and then you go swimming….in a racing current. The band-aid’s never going to stick. The problem is still there. How can we stop the original problem?
3. Policy is where some of the real changes can happen. Outlining step-by-step what can be done differently. But that kind of work can be so dry and so tedious.
4. I’d love to combine the best aspects of both: social work & policy.
5. Youth have always been the future, and they need to be the focus. And yet, even in my ripe young age, I feel so disconnected from today’s youth. If anything I get along best with college students and recent graduates…
6. I’m interested in youth development, community development, program development. Making things work more efficiently, impact more people, and bringing about a slow revolution.
7. I think the above reasons are why I like Obama so much. I see his mind working in much the same mine does.
8. I would love to see a world where there is more neighborly welcome, where people give other people the benefit of the doubt, where creativity and innovation are always encouraged and never “stolen,” where literacy and information abound so that the solutions are readily available, and where people are not oppressed anymore. If I can imagine what that looks like, can’t we get there?
9. I would love to use my knowledge, power, privilege, and resources always to the best of my ability.
10. I would love to live my life without the fear of the possibilities, but always in awe of them while pursuing them.

And so, how is it that I move forward? Do I read up more on the subjects that fuel my fires? Do I start talking to more people? Do I jump into a graduate program that will increase my contacts and networks? Do I just start doing??

Let me just say that I’ve also figured out that I already do love what I do, without it necessarily being a “job.” I’m living life, I’m asking the hard questions, I’m loving the people around me, I’m happy. Now, if I can find the job that lights me up, that encourages my best creativity, that brings out my very best, instead of the dull, burdened shell of a person I had become where I last was.

And so I have to remember that I felt empowered quitting the job where I didn’t feel fully valued. I may feel totally unsure about what it is that’s coming my way next, but I’m so much closer articulating that to myself. I’m so much closer to doing exactly that which I love as mentioned in the previous 10 tenets. And I have to keep moving forward, not feeling afraid of what’s ahead or behind, but just be myself, loving every bit of what I’m doing. :)

Wow! It really happened! I didn’t think it’d be so easy. Well, considering how much I’ve been through to get to this point, I guess it hasn’t been that easy. And by “quitting,” I really “resigned,” so I still have a month before my true departure. But I feel good about it!

I’m leaving the goal up here, because it has two parts: quitting AND loving the next thing. I still don’t exactly know what the next thing will be, so the goal stays.

Soooo…I currently work for the homeless. I love aspects of my job. The guys are fascinating! It’s wonderful to see people trying to piece back their life. It’s great knowing that my 40 hours a week are being spent actually trying to make a difference. But as much I like what we try to do, I don’t LOVE this job. I don’t wake up early antsy to get going at my job. I don’t feel the kind of passion I really want to have in whatever career I’m working towards…

So, I went to an information session about being a flight attendant where they did interviews on-site. You see, my mom was a flight attendant all her life, and honestly, I never thought about it, because she was the flight attendant in the family. I was destined to do something different. I still think I am, but maybe my path is supposed to have being a flight attendant for a few years.

Well, anyway, after a second round of interviews, I’ve been selected! How cool! Who doesn’t want to be a flight attendant? And as my fiance told me, who doesn’t want to date one? Haha. I’ve always said flying is in my blood, even in my genes! And who doesn’t want to have full travel benefits as their job perk? Excuse me, sign me up!

So, now come the big decisions. Do I really quit my job to pursue this flight attendant thing? We get married next May and had huge plans for an extensive honeymoon in Greece…can I negotiate a leave of absense? Do I sacrifice parts of my once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon, so I can fully commit to being a new hire?

AGH!

Technically, I still have time to think things over. The earliest I would start training is in January. But again, that’s creeping closer to the wedding and my post-wedding plans…

[And as always, it would really help if I really knew what it is I would love to do in all aspects….]

To be honest reality speaks for itself, you have to work to maintain your life and in most cases, the lives of those who depend on you. Most of the time that means doing work that doesn’t suit your mentality. It doesn’t have to mean that, but often times it does.
I’ve always thought one day I will be a great leader and I am getting there…but I’m learning that there’s a lot to that, that no one really thinks about when they dream of being a leader. Like, you have to do things you don’t want to do, to get to your goal. Ultimately, those things we don’t want to do, but do, are what makes us most strong. Those thing help us figure out what it is we really need to be doing, they help us make better choices more suited to our mentality, and the best of all is that those things we do but don’t want to be doing help us appreciate the world around us all that much more. Thing is, is that if you realize you’re not doing what you wat to be doing or in my case, what I need to be doing to be happy, then also realize that change is not an overnight thing. You invested a lot of your life to get where you are today…and if you realize it’s not really where you need to be, then whatever you do from now on, needs to be a persistant and dedicated investment towards what you need to be doing and that there’s no one true way to get to your goal. Life is full of choices.

I Just started a job five weeks ago, and already I hate it. I work from 12am-9am, and make quite a bit of money, but my life outside of work is suffereing. Can I quit even though my only reason is that I don’t like the job? Is that a good enough reason? I have been resourceful in finding work in the past, so I am not too worried that I will find something. What do you think?

I have stepped away from corporate America and I’m doing what I love. It’s tough financially; but so worth it! You’re able to live life more fully.