Comments on: What you want now vs. what you want MOST

By: Find Out Where Your Money Is Going

Find Out Where Your Money Is Going — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:50:11 +0000

[...] [...]

By: Married with Luggage » 3 Things

Married with Luggage » 3 Things — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:14:59 +0000

[...] What You Want Now vs. What You Want Most [...]

By: Betsy

Betsy — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:51:04 +0000

What a great story, Angela! You are so right – I’ve come to realize that when people say "I could never do that" or "how could you give that up?" that it is really more about them than it is about me. So I usually just let it go. Over time my friends have shifted as well – most are still in my life, but at a different level of closeness. Bonding with open-minded, supportive people is just more fulfilling.

By: Angela

Angela — Fri, 22 May 2009 01:57:08 +0000

Oh, did I ever! I was actually shocked at people's lack of faith, in themselves, and in some cases of me. I know they were just trying to be helpful, but so many friends would try to talk me out of it since I was giving up a lucrative career. Sometimes I wanted to shout "But I've always wanted to be a writer! And what if I'm a really good writer, and you're basically telling me to give that up?" Sometimes I did say those things. I think a lot of people have this automatic response to say no. They feel trapped and they almost want everyone around them to feel that way, I guess so we can all complain and commisserate with each other. A lot of human behavior (myself included) is rationalizing our decisions and choices.

Some of my closest friends now were the ones who were encouraging. I wanted that kind of positive energy around me. Again, I was surprised at how so many smart and educated people seemed to think they couldn't do anything about their "lot in life" and would just have to accept work they hate for 20 or 30 more years.

I should say that a lot of my friends have made midlife career switches so I had great role models and inspiration, and a lot of friends were very encouraging with the tiny steps I made (and am still making) toward being a freelance writer.

By: Betsy

Betsy — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:36:27 +0000

Did either one of you ever get the "oh, but I could never do that" response from people? If so, how did you reply?

By: Angela

Angela — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:51:20 +0000

I had the exact same experience as Laurie. I was burned out at my job and started taking writing classes at night and actually got some freelance writing work. I had to do all the homework for the class and job assignments, plus get to the class after a long day, but I looked forward to it and loved it. And since it was part of my long time/lifestyle goal, I felt rejuvenated and excited instead of tired or deprived.

By: Betsy

Betsy — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:50:34 +0000

Laurie, thanks for sharing your experience. When you hit on your true calling, it is much easier to make the lifestyle changes necessary to make it happen.

By: Laurie | Express Yourself to Success

Laurie | Express Yourself to Success — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:01:27 +0000

Smart post!

Several years ago, I went back to school part-time while working full-time. While there was the commitment consideration of spending three years of evenings and many weekends doing homework, the experience of being in class and meeting so many like-minded people was fabulous! Even though at the time, just before I started the courses, I thought I was giving up my free time, it turned out to be more fun (a challenge can be fun, right?) than what I had been doing with my time before.