You can, too.
Melissa, here…
This past week, my husband Nick & I have been prepping ourselves for a new adventure starting in a couple of weeks--homeschooling our kindergartener. As a former public school teacher, I am both (probably overly) confident and a little nerv-cited. ;)
There are many reasons why we decided on this route, but probably the most practical and values-related reason: We built our lives over the last decade so that we can have the flexibility and freedom to make the choices that feel best for our family-- which includes travel, entrepreneurship, and experiential learning.
I shared this with a friend, and she said, “Well that must be nice for YOU. We could never. We actually have to work.”
I think she realized shortly after that what she said might have come out differently than she intended-- because implying we don’t work is kinda harsh, right?
But, I've been at this less-traditional way of living for a while that I knew what her reaction was about. She knows both my husband and I work-- we just have very intentional, flexibly scheduled days. She does not.
So, I read between the lines. Knowing this friend well, I think she PROBABLY meant:
My work feels hard and constraining.
I don't feel like I have choices beyond this, so leaving is not an option.
This is just what my life is like. And my mental health is taking a toll.
You have it easier than I do and that makes me upset.
Why am I sharing this?
I want you to know deep in your bones that you DO have opportunities each day to choose differently-- whether or not it feels like it in this moment.
You may be tired.
You may be in survival mode (believe me…I know survival mode.).
You may feel helpless and angry and like you want to save the world from itself but it's so overwhelming, so you just wash-rinse-repeat day after day.
You may have all the cards stacked against you.
I intimately know each one of these scenarios.
Ten years ago, I clawed my way out of the darkest pit of grief, a broken heart, financial turmoil, suffering mental health, and extreme emotional duress.
It took a small, teeny weeny glimmer of hope (and some therapy) for me to finally ask “Why NOT me?" Why was it that a life that felt purposeful couldn't also be spacious in time and finances?
Why was a life of freedom-- to spend my days doing what lights me up, that puts me in service to the world without sucking my soul dry-- why wasn't that available to me, too?
The answer was, of course, that it WAS available to me.
Like it's available to every one of us. You, included.
Today's journal prompt:
WHERE IN YOUR LIFE HAVE YOU DECIDED THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT CAN GET? AND IS THAT ABSOLUTELY TRUE?
I don't want to give you the impression that you can snap your fingers and change things over night, I mean, duh… I'm talking to you today, ten years into this journey of learning and unlearning, investing in my skill-building, and guarding the belief that I COULD… and then taking huge bold action in that direction.
I JUST KNOW YOU CAN, TOO.