Warning: This Excercise Might Cause You to Quit Your Job
A few weeks ago, I shared an Instagram story about an exercise my husband had tried. He was supposed to visualize his 20-year-old self paying a visit to him today and envision what that young person would say, think, and feel about what awaited him.
Then, he was supposed to envision his 65-year-old self sitting down with him to give him advice.
After I shared this exercise, I asked people if their 20-year-old selves would feel
Hmmmm...this isn’t right
Great job, keep going
Wow, this is better than I imagined.
And then I asked them how their 65-year-old selves would feel?
I wish you made the change, or
I’m proud of you!
I received so many messages from people about how powerful this exercise was. One friend told me he wanted to create a dinner party around it. A number of friends said it helped them feel like they were on the right path. One of my cousins, well…she quit her job.
To do this exercise fully, I recommend shutting down everything and just focusing on this. Maybe lie down. Definitely close your eyes. Really immerse yourself in it and picture a full conversation between you now and your younger and older selves. If you like to journal, I definitely recommend journaling afterward.
If this exercise helps you confirm you’re not on the right path, I’m not advocating for a quit-it-all cold turkey moment unless you feel 95.6 percent confident it’s what you need to do and you have some idea of what you’ll do next to pay the bills.
But if it’s clear after the exercise that you need a change, I want you to know I’m cheering you on.
Much has been written about the Great Resignation. More people than ever are dropping out of corporate life to work for themselves or change careers. A lot of people are morphing their goals to match their true values and redefining the role of work in their lives.
Working for myself has been one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever done. It can also be incredibly challenging from a financial and mental health perspective. My fear is that after an initial honeymoon period, some people will think they’ve made a mistake and run back to a job they hate for the false feeling of security.
I’ll touch on this in another post but something to remember: Even if you are self-employed, you still need people. You need people to help and serve because those are the ones who will ultimately buy. You don’t need a lot of them, but you need the right ones for you. You also need like-minded people who are building businesses and freelance careers alongside you who don’t think you’re a crazy dreamer.
If you happen to be newly self-employed or are considering quitting your job to work for yourself, check out six of my hard-earned lessons about living the freelance life.