What's Your Inner Voice Telling You?

Hello my lovely readers.. :)
So today I read an inspiring story and I just can't wait to share with you all..

Happy reading ♥

In 2007, I was an employee working with a great company. My boss was intelligent and inspiring. My coworkers were amicable and worked well as a team. The office environment was entirely casual; no suit and tie required. The pay was acceptable and vacation time fair. The work was adequate, with some days more challenging than others. Office communication was radically transparent, as the staff would often meet weekly to review the recent triumphs and discuss the goals ahead. By most accounts, I should have been content with my career. But something was missing. It started during my morning commute. I would suit up for my bike (depending on the weather) and pedal along the streets, admiring the sense of aliveness that comes with breaking a light sweat. Upon arriving to work, I removed the lock from my backpack and secured my bike next to the rear office entrance, and gazed at the steps leading inside. Suddenly the tiny voice in my head piped up: are you sure this is your path? The statement wasn’t critical or mocking. It was merely asking my opinion on this seemingly natural routine of heading into work every weekday for the requisite 8 hours.
Yes, i told the voice. And headed down the steps


Making Excuses
As the weeks wore on the voice didn’t disappear. Instead, while I typed up reports on my computer, designed a new web page, or printed another document, the question continued to reverberate in my head.

Are you sure this is your path?

I found myself forcibly silencing the voice. I reasoned that a steady paycheck was worthwhile, the experience invaluable, and besides, what else would I do instead of this job? True, I had always been somewhat of a self-starter. In high school I coded websites for extra cash, wrote short stories for the love of writing, and even animated cartoons in my free time. In fact, my wife’s first exposure to my personality came from browsing my photos, video clips, and essays posted on my website. After graduating university, I felt it was time to gain experience in a “normal” 9-5 career. I felt I lacked the knowledge and business network to try freelancing full-time. As a compromise, I started a travel blog Brave New Traveler, and developed it as an outlet for the creativity I felt wasn’t being utilized in my current job. I continued to ignore the voice.

Taking The Leap
A year passed. My employee contract was up for renewal. Nothing had really changed in the job itself; I was still doing similar tasks, not hating my work, but neither inspired by it either. On a day like any other, I remember sitting in my home office, answering a few emails from friends. I found my mind wandering to the impending employee contract; what I should ask for, how I should negotiate. Underneath this mental noise, I felt the tiny inner voice asking its question: Are you sure this is your path? Immediately, I smothered the voice with excuses as to why I should stick with my current career: the money, the stability, the team. After all, many people hated their jobs, and I actually liked mine…most of the time. Suddenly, it hit me: I was afraid. I was inventing reasons to avoid the uncertainty of making the leap and becoming a freelancer. The unknown is scary. The known is predictable. Yet if I actually listened the voice inside, I realized it was telling me to trust the unknown. It was telling me to follow the path that made me afraid, excited, curious, elated. It was telling me to follow the path with heart.

The Path With Heart
At some point in their lives, many people ask themselves this same question:
am I doing what I should be doing with my life?
Am I on the right path?
And more importantly, how do I know the right path when I find it?

Don Juan, quoted in the book The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castenda, believes the right path is always apparent, if you know how to look.

Look at every path closely and deliberately. Does this path have heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn’t. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you. A path without heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy, it does not make you work at liking it.

For me, the path with heart was to make the leap to freelancer. So that very night, when earlier I had been pondering the next year’s employee contract, instead I wrote an email to my boss. I explained how grateful I was for her mentorship and for the opportunity to work with her company; that the position was absolutely right for someone else, but it was ultimately not right for me.

The Road Ahead
Since that fateful decision, I have never looked back. Freelancing has provided me the space to create the life situation that I enjoy most, combining work and travel to develop projects that I infuse with my full passion and energy. Certainly, the unknown has been stressful and more challenging than a regular 9-5 job. But the rewards are felt everyday. First of all, I’m happier, and this happiness trickles outward in all aspects of my life. (Anyone who loves their work knows this to be a fundamental benefit). And second, I feel okay with uncertainty, since security is ultimately an illusion anyway. (Just as Wall Street).This was made possible because I listened to my inner voice. I stopped making excuses and embraced the path with heart. Of course, not all inner voices speak the same. But if you quieted your mind, took a deep breath, and really listened…

What’s your inner voice telling you?

Be happy guys!! :) Pink ♥ U



Live your dreams and be happy