Should I quit my job?

If you’re asking yourself this question, I’m guessing that you’re probably stuck in a soul-sucking job, starring in your own version of Groundhog Day. Your job, while providing you comfort and stability, does not fulfil you. In fact, the very routine and safety you once desired are now eating away at you. There is no excitement, no growth, no hope.

Between staying and leaving are a bundle of unresolved doubts, the most prominent being: “My job is not fulfilling me, but I don’t know what else to do. Even if I quit, where would I go?”

Not knowing what to do, you might start your own rebellion, taking 3-hour lunches or going on long vacations. Of course, none of that works, because sooner or later you find yourself back in the cubicle, continuing the dreaded march of futility.

You could continue this façade forever, slowly resigning to your fate, becoming bitter and cynical.

OR.

One day you could wake up and realise: There’s a hole in my soul.

You realised that a long time ago, you sold your soul for comfort. You took that engineering or consulting or finance job, whatever was prestigious or prudent. But today you realised that your soul does not want prestige! Your soul does not want safety! It wants fulfilment. It wants expression.

So you look hard at your life. And you ask yourself, “Is this what I really want?”

If there is any doubt at all that this is what you want, you must CHANGE YOUR LIFE. The one great mistake people make is thinking that their lives will change automatically. But life does not work that way. Your life will not change until you change. You must give up all illusions so that the great ship of your soul can sail out of that sheltered harbour to embark on the voyage it was made for.

But then you think, I’ve invested all this time and energy into my career! I’m a manager! How could I give this all up?

Yes, you can. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve invested. Because this is not what you want. If you’re doing what you really want, it does not matter what level you’re at. If teaching is your calling, being an okay teacher is better than being a first-class engineer. You’re already living life to the fullest.

Then you need to get past all the emotional crap standing in your way of becoming who you were meant to be. Are you in this job to please your parents? To prove something to yourself or others? Did you just follow what authority our your peers told you to do? Whatever crap reasons held you back and are still holding you back, let them all go. They no longer serve you.

Okay. You’ve made it past your own bullshit. You take that first step and you DO SOMETHING. Maybe you quit your job, start moonlighting, start traveling, go back to school, or maybe even learn a whole new skill.

This is where things get really tough. Because now you’ve found something that matters. And because this is your dream, you can’t fuck it up. You can’t fail. You’re afraid of starting. But you try. Your first few attempts suck. Before this, you were a success at something you didn’t give a shit about. But now, you’re a failure at something you care about.

But you keep trying, and you get better eventually. That’s part of the journey. You’re moving from a life dictated by social expectations and norms to a life that’s truly your own. You’re doing the work that truly matters to you.

That’s what we mean by doing good work. That’s what we mean by authentic living. That’s how people become great leaders, innovators, businessmen. They’re doing things they love. At this point, the threads in your life may all start to make sense. The childhood dreams you had, they come to fruition now. You’re no longer a just dreamer. You’re a doer too. You make dreams happen.

Now your real life begins.

Start now.