“How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” —Seth Godin
My soul was dead.
I know that sounds dramatic. But, every day when I showed up at the office and punched in the security code, I literally thought, “When I leave here today, I’ll be 9 hours closer to death.”
Ok, so it was a little dramatic, but that didn’t make it less true.
I don’t blame that on the job. I actually didn’t mind the work itself. Instead, I take full responsibility for the mess I was in. Simply put: I’d reached the end of my ‘I-work-to-live’ rope.
I’d been at the same job for 18 years when I decided I couldn’t do it anymore, and it really made no sense. I liked my manager, and I liked my co-workers. I worried I was being ungrateful and, frankly, stupid for making such a sweeping decision to change my entire life, but truthfully, those were only underlying feelings. I guess you could say those were the feelings I was supposed to feel.
The truth is when I walked out of my office for the last time, it physically felt like I was getting an elephant off my shoulders.
I was free.
Here we are two years later.
Has it been easy all the time? No.
Have I had to mindfully keep my eyes focused ahead a few times? Yes.
Would I change a thing? Not a chance.
Now, I’m certainly not suggesting you leave your job. At all.
HOWEVER, if you’ve ever googled (or thought about googling) anything remotely similar to, “Help! I Hate My Job,” then here a few things that were really helpful on my journey.
1. DECIDE.
As much as your family and friends love you, I promise that they’re getting tired of your droning on and on about it. (No, seriously. They are.) 
Staying in a state of indecision IS a decision, and it’s a drag for them AND for you.
2. DISCOVER.
Upon leaving my job, I took a little time for discovery. I have all kinds of cool things and cool people in my life, and I’d almost forgotten how much awesome I’d already collected.
3. DREAM BIGGER.
In your heart of hearts, what sounds amazing to you? I don’t live much in redo’s and regrets, Beautifuls, but if I had just one do-over in my life, I’d look at all of my dreams for my life and then make them bigger. Whatever that daydream is occupying your thoughts, multiply it by infinity, and then go get it. …I wouldn’t tell you to do it if I didn’t believe with every fiber of my being that we sell ourselves short way too often. Stop it. 😉
If you’ve ever been in a similar position, I’d love to hear your feedback below.