Jumping With a Safety Net

Jumping With a Safety Net Eloise Jumps in a Puddle by flapperdoodle Welcome to the second post by Sarah Ivie, the When I Grow Up scholarship winner! If you havent read the first, Change is Like Laundry, I highly, highly, highly (highly, highly) encourage you to do so. Because its (a) awesome,   (b) introduces her so well, (c) is a total eye-opener. Without further adieu, post #2! (please dont feel blue. I like you! Sorry, cant resist a good rhyme): I am a person motivated significantly by fun and happiness. I took a personality quiz (I love personality quizzes) and it told me this. Which I already knew. But somehow every time I re-discover this simple fact, Im reminded of how important this is. Especially when you consider the alternatives. I am not as motivated by power, wealth (though I wouldnt turn my nose up), or reputation, though these things are REALLY important to a lot of people. So, being that Im so motivated by good feelings youd think Id be following my bliss (as my refrigerator magnet reminds me to do everyday). And while I do  in some areas of my life, it seems I havent managed to follow maxim when it comes to my work, which  for me (as Im sure for most of you) takes up the majority of my waking hours.  I lived in West Virginia for most of my life, and while its a beautiful state the job market has been the pits, pretty much forever. So I grew up with the understanding that having a job was a privilege, and doing what you enjoyed was a luxury reserved for folks who didnt have to worry about making ends meet. So while I studied literature and the humanities (because it was fun), and spent most of my free time cooking and crafting (because it made me happy), I paid the bills working retail, and later with office jobs. I am one heck of a typer, after all. Moving to Austin opened up the job market significantly, but as my job experience is in administrative office work, for the most part, thats what I ended up doing. My first job in town was so awful it made me sick, literally. Ive moved on (side note if your job ever makes you sick, or makes you cry more than occasionally, RUN AWAY!) and things are better now. But I still spend big chunks of my day doing things I dont enjoy. The thing is, I know what I enjoy, and I know Id love to jump in and start my own business, baking away day and night. But Im not quite comfortable enough (both nerve-wise and money-wise) to quit the day job yet. And the great part of my life-coaching with Michelle is that shes helping me find ways to work towards what I want, reach for those goals, without leaving my safety net just yet. I can see how the business my husband and I want to start can actually happen, and I believe Im on the right path to make it a reality. Best of all, Michelle is  gently nudging me in the direction of incorporating more Happy and more Fun into my life!   How fantastic is that?!?