[tweetability]“You can fail at doing what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.”[/tweetability]
These are the words of Jim Carrey.
Hands up who was surprised to see that good ol’ Ace Venturer turns out to be full of amazing wisdom?!
A bit of back story to the quote - Jim was talking about his father, who he says was an incredible comedian, and yet put his love aside to take the safe career in order to support his family. Years down the line he was made redundant from that unwanted carer and the family found themselves doing whatever they could to survive. So when it became Jim’s turn to forge a career, he knew there was only one thing he wanted to be.
I always feel sad when I hear people complaining about their job - and I’m not talking about complaining like “Oh, it was a tough day today”, I am talking about genuine complaining stemming from true unhappiness. So many people are in jobs they can’t stand, but stay out of fear of leaving, fear of trying something else, or they are they because it’s safer and pays well.
I’m very fortunate to be able to say I absolutely love my job, it may not pay the best, there may be long hours and intense deadlines and lots of stress (like many other people’s jobs), but I love it. I work in an industry I only ever thought would be a pipe dream.
But this wasn’t always the dream I had.
For those that know me, I actually have a background in acting and theatre and once held dreams of having my name in lights. But after years of trying, and no real success, I began to question whether I should be doing it or not.
If you feel the same about what you are doing, then I offer you this quote from author Caroline Myss:
[tweetability]“So much suffering is caused by chasing dreams that don’t belong to us.”[/tweetability]
When I first heard this it kicked me right between the legs and took my breath away. I realised that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t supposed to become an actor.
After much contemplation I said goodbye to performing and followed a different path and five years later I have never looked back. This is what I was supposed to do.
Surrendering, and giving up on something is not a bad thing, if it is done with humility and grace.
We all have the power to move on, and to change paths, and even though I am happy with mine now and I am succeeding, this isn’t to say that I won’t move on to something else in the future, but I know for now, this is the path I am supposed to take as I move towards that bigger and brighter future.
I honestly believe we all have a destiny, a bright light of a future. It’s just up to use to find it and to use it. If you aren’t happy with your life, it’s up to you to make that change, and you can do it.
But first you need to ask yourself some important questions:
Are you a weekly sufferer of the Sunday blues?
If every Sunday evening you start dreading going to sleep because the next day brings work, then maybe it’s time to make some changes.
Are you only happy under certain circumstances?
Is you happiness conditional? Do you need something to be happy? I’ll be happy when I’ve done this, or got that? If you aren’t happy as a default at work, time to think about why that is.
When you think about other things you would like to do, does it make you nervous and excited?
If you get more excited thinking about other dreams, then maybe it’s time to make them a reality?
How much did you learn yesterday? Are you just getting by or flourishing?
Ok, that’s sort of two questions, but they relate, if you are merely going through the motions every day, what can you do to make a change? There may be things at work you can do to make a change. The main reason I have left any job is that I stopped learning. I live learn. I always get made fun of for knowing random facts about things, because I like sitting a racing about random things when they crop up. But learning is how we become better, it’s how we grow. So never stop learning.
If this resonates with you, please tweet the quotes and pass the story along, the more people we reach together, the more people can benefit from a wealth of support and guidance.
Here’s to a great week. Take it by the balls, people.
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