Getting Unstuck is the Beginning
SHARING KNOWLEDGE & INSPIRATION
by: Lynn Carnes
Do you ever feel stuck? Maybe feel stuck in a job or a life you really aren't happy with? Do you ever think that "someday" I'll do what I want? Or maybe "someday" I'll like my job or my life or my partner or...
Sometimes you just feel a sense of "well, I'm not sure what it is I do want, but I'm pretty sure this isn't it." So you find yourself slugging into work every day, kinda' gritting your teeth and wondering when you're going to start liking your life again.
I've felt that way, too, and I know so many friends and co-workers who do too. I know that when I quit the corporate rat race (more on that later), I was fairly stunned by the number of people who came to me and said that if it weren't for (fill in the blank), they'd do what I'm doing in a heartbeat.
They filled in the blank with kids, college, health care, bills. You name it.
You know, the older I get, the more I realize just how precious life is, and how quickly it all goes. I started realizing that "someday" might just never happen if I didn't start now. I know so many people in my parent's generation who worked all their
life and denied themselves the things they wanted until "someday," only to find themselves retired, sick and gone before they could enjoy life.
I'd like to encourage you to really think about this. Ask yourself. "Am I stuck?" "Is this the life I'd choose if I could choose anything I wanted?" And then ask yourself the big one. "Am I willing to take a risk to change to a life I really want?"
Amazingly enough, many of us (me included) hang on to what we have because we're afraid to change. For the last 10 years I was in the corporate world, I knew I wanted to be an
entrepreneur. Yet I stayed in there, moved to two
different companies and tried to feel happy about it all. After all, I was making very good money, had good jobs, worked for good companies. What's not to like?
Well, like many people, I found that I was working so hard that I had no life. I finally realized that it was pointless to make all that money if I didn't have the time or energy to enjoy it.
I realized that I was stuck, and hanging on to something that I didn't really want or need in my life. I also realized that the price was high--I was impacting my health, my family, my friends, and most of all, my husband.
So one day I came home, set up the deck with chairs, made my husband his favorite drink and said, "We need to talk." Now, please don't do that to your husband. I didn't realize that he immediately thought the worst when I saw his face go pale. I had to quickly add, "It's not you!" So we talked. And he was so supportive. So I took the plunge, quit, and became an entrepreneur. (I don't recommend this usually either--I had fortunately not had time to spend that money so... :-)
Here's what's amazing. Six months after I quit, my husband came to me and told me two things that kind of blew me away. First, he said he's so much happier since I quit. (Imagine that. One
of the reasons I hung on was for him. Sound familiar, maybe?) And second. And this one hit me hard. He said that he felt like he'd gotten back the woman he married. Ouch.
I had no idea how much my job had changed me. I heard from friends, family members as well, telling me I looked 10 years younger and that I laughed again. Ouch again. I had no idea how the stress had spilled over into my private life.
So now I'm on a quest to help as many people as I can to find the life they really want.
Here is a resource that I have found particularly helpful in moving on:
The Passion Test - don't know what you really want to do or be? Or how to get started? Take The Passion Test (it's quick, easy, fun and inspirational) and find out. You don't have to
buy it--it's in the library too. And check out Chapter 10--my story is there!
My very best wishes to you. And do yourself a favor--if you're stuck, decide to get unstuck!
Lynn Carnes
Lynn is the founder and CEO of The Great Life, LLC, focused on creative life and wealth solutions. She has a passion for life and for helping others to achieve their full potential through a strong life vision and a focused plan that gets results. She is also the architect of the Internet Masters Series. Prior to starting The Great Life, Lynn spent 25 years in Information Technology, the last 18 years in senior to executive level roles at Fortune 150 financial and insurance companies. check out her website: www.womencorp.org