Five W2's in 13 months

"A person is a success if they get up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."

Bob Dylan

Knowing what you DON'T want is just as important as knowing what you DO want.

Over the span of 13 months, I had quit 5 vastly different jobs. To an employer I looked like a warning sign, to someone feeling stuck in life I looked undeniably courageous. The one job that always stayed with me was my Energy Healing practice. Do I feel that it's my life purpose? Absolutely. Did I immediately rule out every other possibility of an income? Clearly not. My final and perhaps favorite ending to a job happened on Halloween of 2017.

I had been working in an Apothecary for two weeks. And yes, I did get the job because I had, "the right vibe for an Apothecary." (Which will forever remain as one of my favorite compliments. Next only to being called a "Maxxinista." #bargainshopper)

I was working long shifts and trying to balance my own private practice with being back in school for coaching. I was overcommitted but felt that I needed the extra income. I still believed that working for someone else was the only way to truly make money. The two weeks of the new job were very chaotic and my ability to keep my life balanced was proving more challenging than I had anticipated. I believe in having work that supports the life you want to create, not moving your life around to accommodate work. Warning: few employers will agree with this concept.

Payday finally arrived and I was prepared to see the huge sums of money that all of the countable hours had been for. *Insert bucket of cold water being thrown on my face* I shouldn't have been that surprised, it's really basic math, but I just couldn't understand how the craziness of the past two weeks didn't reflect what I thought I had earned. At the precise moment that I saw the payday number in my bank account, I looked up one line to see what I had earned from a day of private clients. Oh how those numbers made much more sense to me. I finally got that I needed to take the final leap of faith on myself and have my own business. No more miscellaneous jobs, just me.

Having a realization is one thing, taking action is a whole different beast. I woke up on Halloween morning, nervous but resolved in quitting. I can do this, no turning back. In my big epiphany I had forgotten that the store was dressing up in the theme of Superheroes. Still feeling confident, Kara?

I had my quitting speech fine-tuned, practiced over and over again on the drive to work, and knew I had to take the plunge. I just hadn't anticipated having to quit to bosses dressed as The Joker and Underdog. That, I most certainly couldn't have prepared for.

I've had many miscellaneous jobs over the course of my life, and learned valuable lessons from all of them. (Even if the valuable lesson was that manual labor wasn't the only way to be around nature.) The biggest theme and lesson I learned was what I don't want for myself. In finding what I don't want, I ultimately became more clear on what I do want. I had reached the point where being self-employed was exactly what I wanted more than any predictable paycheck. Trusting in my intuition, the Universe and having enough guts to see a bigger vision for myself were my recipe for changing my work life.

It's easy to think that one way is the only way, purely because it's familiar and you haven't allowed yourself to imagine something better. I get it, I've been there. I know though, firsthand, that betting on yourself will never fail you. Your real job in this life is to become the truest version of yourself that you possibly can be. The version of yourself where people say to you, "you seem like yourself!" That's the goal and it's always worth pursuing. If this is resonating with you but you feel scared or overwhelmed, just know that taking inventory of your life won't always leave you feeling excited. Where can you make minor changes? What would you like to improve? What DON'T you want?

It's okay to change your mind, change your job, change your relationship, change your friendships, change your beliefs. You were meant to evolve.

I bet the constraints that are so firmly holding you in place are coming from nobody other than yourself. Just for one minute imagine a different version of an unfulfilling situation. Without any repercussions, what's the easiest way out? What's one alternate ending?

In that brief instance you transformed your tunnel vision, routine thinking into a wider scope of possibility. Expanding our scope of possibility is the exact way we change our lives and actively create what we most desire. You have nothing to lose by wanting something new for yourself. I'd be as bold to say that it's your right to want more. Evolve, baby.

What's one thing you DON'T want for yourself anymore? Comment below, I love hearing your insights!