One Simple "Key" That'll Help You Break Out Of Your Traditional Office Job

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. In this week's journal entry I'm talking about a very simple "key" to breaking out of your traditional job and pursuing your own business. It's so simple but it's a blind spot for a lot of people. It was for me! But once I realized it, I'm not going to lie, it kind of rocked my world in more ways than one. It touched not only my career, but my relationships, my finances, and my health and wellness.

What's one of the simple keys to success? It's taking responsibility. So many people want to "live the dream" and be their own boss and live a beautiful life, but they are unwilling to spend even 30 minutes on the weekend working on their dream. It blows my mind! You see how it's so simple yet such an issue for people? I experienced it myself! I previously worked as a lawyer and my hours were really long and included weekends. The last thing I wanted to do was devote 30 minutes each day, or even once per week, working on my dream. Looking back, I see how I was my own worst enemy at times. I expected the world for myself, yet I was unwilling to do much to get there, and then I sat there in misery feeling trapped at my lawyer job. Umm...hello! This is not rocket science, yet I failed to see my situation through that very simple lens. I complained and whined, feeling like a victim, trapped in a career I hated, yet I wasn't willing to take any responsibility to get myself out of it.

I see this vicious circle play out over and over again. People want things but aren't willing to work for them. And then they complain that they don't have them. Right? I bet there's at least one area of your life where - if you got honest with yourself - you'll admit this is true. It's like the girl who downs a bottle of wine at night and then wonder why she feels awful during her workout the next morning. Or the woman who eats Chik-fil-A for lunch five days a week and complains that she wants to lose weight. Or the guy who drinks 8 beers at night and then wonders why he can't get up for work the next day. Or the guy who wants to live life on his own terms and wonders why all of his relationships fail. 

So what's the key to moving beyond this? It's so simple. Once you recognize it, the answer hits you in the face. Take the examples above: the girl at the workout class limits herself to one or two glasses of wine the night before her workout, the woman who wants to lose weight starts eating the Chik-fil-A salad for lunch instead of the greasy sandwich and fries, the guy who can't get up for work limits himself to 2 or 3 beers, and the guy who can't hold a relationship starts taking into account his partner's perspective and learns how to compromise on decisions. Awareness is half the battle. No, it's MORE than half the battle.

The rest of the battle is snapping yourself out of the vicious mental loop. Back when I was a lawyer, I'd catch myself in this vicious circle, feeling sorry for myself, and then I'd say, "Hey, hold on a minute." I'd recognize the downward spiral and I'd call myself out on it. I'd recognize that I can do something about this and affirm that I'm willing to do something about this. I'd also say to myself, "I have no permission to whine right now if I'm not willing to do anything about this." Take responsibility! Be the adult you are and start recognizing that your actions (or lack of action) have a consequence. Recognize that you are in control: you can do something about it or you can whine, the choice is yours. Stop giving up your power so easily to this vicious mental loop that doesn't even make logical sense. Empower yourself. It really isn't as hard as it seems.

What's one area of your life where you're falling for this trap? Don't beat yourself for it! Just become aware of it, so you can change it the next time it happens. Cheers to recognizing where we're holding ourselves back!

xoxo,

Stacy