Stop being unhappy and comfortable. Start scaring yourself!

Have you taken time out to review your life lately? It’s very likely you have since we just left 2016 behind and are starting fresh in 2017. You have a whole new year in front of you. A blank slate you can fill up anyway you like. So, … are you making a fresh start?

For years in a row I would do a cursory evaluation of the year gone by. Only cursory because it was clear the conclusion would be the same as it had been all those years before.

At work I would have gotten an overall very positive performance review, raise and possibly a promotion.

I was able to live comfortably on the salary I was earning. I liked my colleagues. I was appreciated by clients.

There were only two problems: 1) I was unhappy because I didn’t like what I was doing and 2) I had no idea how I could change that.

Once again I would decide to stay in the career, the life I was in and hope that some day I would have an epiphany about what it was I really wanted to do. Then I’d switch to a life  that would give me joy and fulfilment.

That decision also conveniently, but not necessarily consciously, provided me with an excuse to stick with my comfortable but not happy life. After all, it’s better to know what you have than chase after an uncertain dream. Right? Right!

That’s how I used to think until crisis hit and I was finally forced to really review my life.

I’ve written about my burnout before and won’t bore you with it again. (Read some of my old posts if you want to know more).

Suffice it to say, going on as I had before was no longer an option.

Starting with the easy stuff I changed to a healthy diet and lost more than 50 pounds.

Related Post: 4 Things to do A Lot When Learning to Live Your Own Life

I started monitoring my time spend at work more closely and brought it down to a more reasonable level.

I picked up exercising again and got myself a dog, giving me more reasons to keep my work hours reasonable.

None of these steps were scary, but they also didn’t constitute significant changes in my life.

Significant changes meant having to do things that scared me.

Since it was clear to me that significant change by now was what I really needed, I was left with no choice but to start doing the scary things too.

I worked with a coach who asked me the hard questions I was afraid to ask myself. She helped me figure out what is really important to me.

I incorporated the important things into my life, which eventually lead to leaving that comfortable but unhappy life altogether

Leaving behind the comfort of a financial stable life was for me the scariest thing I had ever done. I was convinced I would not be able to handle the insecurity that would come with it. I proved myself wrong though.

Turns out living a life that is perhaps not yet financially comfortable but much happier is totally worth it for me.

Though this is my story, I’m not unique!

In talking to clients I’ve found they have stories that are eerily similar to mine.

Their stories may differ in the details, but they are basically the same:

Stuck in a comfortable, but unhappy life or career, they’re afraid to act because the outcome of any action is (still) a big unknown!

Only after experiencing a crisis, do they find the courage to change anything about their lives.

Don’t be like them! Don’t be like me!

Don’t wait for a crisis to hit you and only then start acting.

Start acting now!

Start by taking small steps!

Then take that big one and do the thing that scares you!

You won’t be disappointed!

As always….

Go dare greatly!