Fifteen years ago, I took a leap that would have terrified my younger self: I packed my car and moved across the country with no job waiting for me. As a kid, I remember thinking how cool it would be to ride my bike west until I hit the Pacific Ocean, but that was always a pipe dream.
Despite the normal ups and downs of human life, I’m living the life I dreamed of because I’ve taken several calculated risks. Moving to San Diego from Ohio, taking the job at Amazon with a 4 month old in tow (and subsequently moving to Washington), and finally moving back to the city I fell in love with.
An old friend reached out to me after hearing about my travels and asked if I was ever scared. Of course I was – without gainful employment and sleeping in different hotels every night was not the life I pictured for myself, but it was a necessary evil to gain the life I wanted. My husband and I sometimes wonder what would happen if we had stayed in Ohio..:probably a few more babies…maybe a few less hardships, but we wouldn’t change a thing.
Now the most important part – what should you take away from this. Ask yourself “what’s the worst that can happen?” Life is meant to be lived. I walk outside our home and am surrounded by palm trees, what I dreamed about as a young girl. Had I been scared to make the leap, this would not be my reality. I’m not saying you need to make drastic changes, but with my learned experience, I can say for certain that if you leap, a parachute will appear.
Still not convinced? Go to your local Barnes and Noble and pick up a journal. Start writing about your wants and desires to put them out into the universe. Re-read your journal entries and you may begin to see a pattern or theme. Use that to guide your next move in life. Remember, you are the hero in your journey, not your spouse or your kids or your parents or neighbors. Create the life you want to live and do it unabashedly.
Leap.
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