Finding the Will

The alarm blared as I lay quietly. I played possum, but I couldn’t fool myself; I was wide awake. The uneasiness I felt in the pit of my stomach had sadly become a common occurrence. Most days I’d force myself out of bed despite how bad I felt. That morning, however, I weighed a ton and could hardly muster the strength to put both feet on the floor. I contemplated taking a mental health day. Taking time off was the best I could do since I didn’t have the guts to walk away for good.

The fear of walking out of the proverbial door and never looking back terrified me. For almost thirty minutes I processed my thoughts as fragments of sunlight began to peek through the blinds leading me to curse the day before it began. For almost ten years I held myself hostage to a job and an IT career I had no passion for. To be truthful, I was on autopilot: I was completely doing myself a disservice. This came at a time where I was struggling to find my way as a writer and business owner. After a series of mistakes and false starts, I began to lose my edge and my patience.

There was a tug-o-war between my deepest desires and a career that only paid the bills. I couldn’t face the fact that deep down inside, I knew I was cheating myself. How do you find the courage to act in the face of fear? How do you follow your dreams when they feel impossible? I was stuck and I knew it. Perhaps you can relate?

Many of us find ourselves at this crossroad at some point in our lives. Since we’ve got only one life, we owe it to ourselves to ignite our passions. We owe it ourselves to dream as if there was no tomorrow. How long must we suffer? I got used to being unhappy with my circumstances. Each day I put myself last and it was destroying me. I had to make a change and fast.

Today, I encourage you to do some soul searching. How do you feel about your position in life? Do you want to change careers? Have you been dreaming of devoting more time to building your business? Have you ever considered relocating to new state and starting over? Have you considered firing that toxic job, but haven’t quite found the strength to take the necessary action? What’s stopping you from making yourself happy?

The day I walked away from that terrible job was the day I realized the power was always within me. I just had to put myself first and act. That same power is within you. The fear of the unknown can be crippling, but on the other side of that fear was a peace like none other. Finding the will to move forward was a challenge, make no mistake about it, but it was worth it. I dare you to believe there’s a future that features you doing what you love and being great at it. Trust yourself and take the leap— it’s worth it.