Comments on: It Starts with a Choice

By: Kelly Parkinson

Kelly Parkinson — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:11:21 +0000

Totally relate to this. When I quit my job, I thought that was The Choice, and I wouldn’t have to make any more agonizing ‘should-I-shouldn’t-I’-type decisions. Ha ha. It turns out that was just the beginning. The deliberating never ends. I have to make hard choices all the time now that aren’t so clear-cut, but that feel even more important. But the big choice of quitting set a precedent. It helps me trust my judgment now, when “right” and “wrong” decisions don’t seem so obvious.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:55:43 +0000

@Random Kath – Yay for giving yourself credit – that is such an important part of the process of getting unstuck! I’m definitely cheering you on!

@Nathalie – Ah yes…the entrepreneurial trait. I never felt like I had it because I was convinced I was just a bad employee. I think it’s hard to really grasp the idea if we haven’t already been exposed to it.

@Hiro – You’ve taught me so much about choices and sovereignty. I’m so thankful for that.

@Casey – Ooh…bonus points for the Highlander reference! Yay for not putting up with BS! And you totally hit the nail on the head – you can choose to biggify something even if you don’t know how, yet.

@Maya – Thank you, m’dear! I guess another decision I made was that I couldn’t thrive if I had to hide who I really am – quirks or otherwise. :)

By: Maya

Maya — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:23:32 +0000

Victoria,
Beautifully written and so true! Thank you so much for sharing yourself the way you do. You inspire me greatly to keep on sharing myself and putting myself out there!

To inspiration, support and truth!
Smiles,
Maya

By: Casey

Casey — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:09:02 +0000

I completely understand what you say "So there I was “living the dream.” It took less than a year before I was utterly miserable." I trained and worked for years to be a copy editor and I loved Macs. Eventually I got the job being the Macworld copy editor (yes, singular, like in "Highlander", there can be only one). Within six months I was utterly miserable, primarily because my boss was a "do as I say not as I do" kind of boss. I held on long enough for them to fire me with a decent severance package. Then and there, I made the choice that there were BS things in the work world which with I would not put up. And every job since then has been for better pay, with better clients, and far more enjoyable. Now I'm moving forward on biggifying my thing, and even though I'm not yet sure exactly how to do that, I am certain that I will do it. Thank you for sharing your story and helping us all recognize that we do have a choice, and that that choice can make a huge difference in work and in play.

By: Hiro Boga

Hiro Boga — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:07:32 +0000

Victoria, I love how clearly you’ve articulated this journey from resentment and powerlessness to the understanding that you always have the power to choose. It puts your life back into your own hands.

And then these wise next steps: “Once you’ve made that choice, it’s about getting the support you need. And about being open to learning new ways to help yourself. And about engaging with your stuff compassionately.”

Thanks for a nourishing, uplifting post.

By: Nathalie Lussier

Nathalie Lussier — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:42:55 +0000

Ahh… so true! I also did the corporate software-like job… and although I didn’t roll my eyes (teehee!) I did resent some of the requests/work I had to do. I definitely see looking back that I’ve always had that entrepreneurial trait, but that I was picking jobs that didn’t support that side of me. That and I was young and wasn’t sure what to expect. :)

Now things are smoothing along on my entrepreneurial journey, and I’m loving the choice I made!
Nathalie Lussier´s last blog ..What Are Goji Berries?

By: Random Kath

Random Kath — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:05:09 +0000

Hooray! And I say hooray because I only recently came to the realization myself that I *have* made a choice to figure out what my thing is and who my Right People are. Now, have I figured out how to move from the point of stuck to act on that? Um, no, not yet. But I have to give myself credit for identifying the problem in the first place and trying to not get bummed out about everything else. Thanks for letting me have this space to recognize that! :-)