The Long Departure

The first thing you should know when you read this post is that I've never quit anything in my life, ever.  Except for maybe ballet and piano, but I was like, six so that doesn't really count.  I mean, I think I've dropped a grand total of maybe three classes during all my years of education combined.  I've never downright failed at anything either (though the way this has affected my tendency to not try new things for fear of failure is for a new post altogether).  All my life, I've been an above-average student -- until law school -- and a pretty damn good employee.

But I guess there comes a time in everyone's life where that just isn't going to fly anymore.  Enter my current job as an Executive Assistant.

At the start of May, I officially gave my boss notice that June 1st will be my last day at our organization.  And though I've been thinking this through for a while, talking it over with Nate, making plans and preparations so I'm not left wallowing in a pit of unemployed misery, let me tell you, I really thought I was going to puke for the entire week leading up to that conversation.

But the meeting went as well as can be expected I guess when you blindside your boss during what's probably the busiest two months of our year and tell him that he'll be left high and dry and assistant-less in a month.  He asked if there was anything he could do to make me stay.  I said no.  He said that while he wasn't happy about it, he understood.  I said thanks, and I'm sorry.

Truthfully, on some level, I am sorry.  And there's definitely a fair amount of guilt I feel, but that's more because I'm just the type of person that will feel guilty for the fact that it's raining rather than because I should feel guilty about something.  This job just wasn't a fit for me.  It wasn't a fit in ways that a size 3 shoe isn't the right fit for a size 7 foot: so, it wasn't a fit in colossal ways.  And that made it an unhappy place, a draining place and, in the last few months, a pretty toxic place for me.  I came to despise everything about my job and who I was while I was at it and the fact that that person followed me home and became the person I was here in my safe haven too.  This job made me feel like I had nothing going for me, nothing to look forward to other than a paycheck every other week.  It didn't require me to use any skills I thought I possessed, it gave me no indication of what value I held and it just made me feel...useless.

So I finally got up the courage -- and put enough plans in motion --  to quit.

And since that day, I've felt so...liberated. Scared, yes, definitely.  The fear factor is pretty much through the roof at all times.  After all, how will I survive once the money I've saved runs out?  I can't rely on Nate forever, and there's no telling when I'll find another job.  And what about health insurance?  What about paying off my credit card debt?  What about paying my student loans?  What about being a responsible adult, sucking it up, and sticking this job out?  What about all the millions of things you need a paying job to do???

So I'm really, really scared.

But still, nothing compares to having a set date when this job will be over, when the stress of the everyday drudgery will be done, when I won't have to wake up in the morning wondering how I'm going to fail at something or forget something else today.  It's truly like a physical weight is slowly being lifted from my shoulders.  It's incredible.  I finally feel like my life is starting to move again.

And at this point, movement is all I'm looking for.

No One Said It Would Be Easy (Part Deux)

Yesterday's post was about me trying to navigate through my feelings of disappointment (and anger, if I'm perfectly honest) over my own laziness and loss of motivation/inspiration when it came to this journey I'm taking toward...self-improvement, I guess?  It was about me trying to understand that -- contrary to my own instant-gratification-perfection-seeking-ideas -- it's okay if this journey takes me a little more time than I would have liked, and it's okay if I experience some set-backs.  It was about cutting myself some slack, which is probably something we all could do for ourselves a little more often, don't you think?

Anyway, so after writing this post yesterday, I set about trying to identify things in my life that would re-inspire and re-motivate me to pick myself up again after 2 weeks of desolation and get started once more.  What were some of the things I could turn to or do that would inject some much needed omph back into my life when I find myself in the middle of those days when I just don't want to participate in anything unless it includes sitting under a pile of really comfy blankets on my couch wearing my favorite sweats, eating my favorite foods and watching some probably crappy TV?  Here's what I came up with (and I would love, love, love any more ideas or suggestions!):

Talking to inspirational peeps: Yesterday was one of those interesting days where it's confirmed that things happen in their own time for very specific reasons.  I mean, there I was trying to find things in my life that inspire me and all of a sudden I have a phone date with one of my closest friends who also happens to be one of the few real-life people that never fails to be inspirational for me in some way, shape or form.  (This is noteworthy because she and I talk maybe once every few months and yesterday's call was sort of random.)  This girl is beautiful in so many ways, but the way in which she inspires and motivates me most is in her love of the outdoors and her active lifestyle.  When Nate and I visited her and her boyfriend in Denver last summer, I was continuously struck by how healthy and active and open her life was.  They walk or bike everywhere, they hike a lot, the mountains are like, right there at all times, they eat well and they have this happy, full life without having to spend thousands of dollars on it (she's admirably frugal too).  And every time I talk to her or see her, I'm reminded of how much more effort I want to put into being healthier and more active and much, much more in touch with the outdoors.  These are things I want, things I love and she's an example of making those things a priority. 

Nerding out on inspirational reads: The thing you need to realize about me is that I'm a student at heart.  I love learning and reading and thinking.  When I want to figure out how to do something, I will almost always find a book on the subject that I can devour.  So it's no surprise really that, when I want to up the ante on inspiration, I would head straight for those stacks and grab books like Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains.  More recently though, I've been into reading self-help/nonfiction books, blogs, old entrees in my journal, and even Twitter and Facebook (particularly the updates from former high school classmates that now make me so thankful for the choices I made -- and want to continue making -- in my life).  Some of those reads include: Stratejoy (obviously...that site is like this never-ending well of motivation, camaraderie and support), Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Mark Bittman's Food Matters, Women's Health Magazine, Lauren Conrad Style (because not everything has to be super serious.  No judging.) and much, much more.  If you have any suggestions for some added reading (fiction too), please let me know!  I'm always looking for something new to check out! 

Trading in my melancholy music for some inspiration:  Okay, so I'm not giving up my mellow fav's wholesale, but I do think there's something to be said about music affecting a person's moods.  And call me crazy, but I don't think I'm going to feel like getting out of my cozy nest of a couch and making moves while listening to Band of Horses (though they're good for practically everything else.  I <3 you, BoH.).  So I created a "pick me up" playlist which, while it admittedly destroys any street or indie cred I might have ever hoped to possess, seriously does make me smile.  It's not as upbeat as you may think (that's reserved for my "dance party at my desk" playlist), but every song makes me feel either: A) lighthearted, B) grateful, C) motivated, or D) calm and relaxed without being dejected.  Overall, it's a pretty good mix of pop, folk, country and a tiny bit of rock and church.  I've been listening to it a lot in order to get my ass moving some things like journaling regularly, reaching out to friends and making plans, anything.  Here's a little sampling of what this playlist looks like (click on the image for a closer look):

What inspires you?

No One Said It Would Be Easy

About two months ago, when I felt myself emerging out of the funk that had been the six months before, I had all sorts of plans laid out before me.  I had goals about my health, fitness and nutrition, about writing and being more creative, about dedicating time every day to checking in with myself, about appreciating my loved ones more.  I had come up with practices and habits that would help to make me into the version of me I wanted to be.  And I was excited about it.

It's the feeling you get when you first begin any new project.  Things are shiny and new and interesting and you're curious about how it will all turn out.  You make the necessary time to dedicate to this project before all else and you make it work.  For maybe a week.  And then life happens.  And all of a sudden, there's no more time, no more excitement.  Things get back-burnered or put off altogether, and soon you're right back where you started.

And in my case, this is when you start feeling totally disappointed in yourself.  I always seem to take it harder when it's myself letting me down, mostly because I know the choices that went into whatever decision led to the letting-down and I can't ignore the fact that it was mostly just laziness (which is the saddest excuse for anything in the history of the world, by the way).

But this time I'm trying to remind myself that there's something to be said for the fact that this was never supposed to be easy, and it's definitely not supposed to happen overnight.  When you're overhauling your entire life and working to change the very reasons behind your bad habits, set-backs are expected.  When the new habits you're trying to pick up are the exact opposite of everything you're used to doing, you're not going to be comfortable with them right off the bat and you have to leave yourself some wiggle room, cut yourself some slack.  I'm trying to remind myself that this is a process, that it's a bit like trying on clothes -- I'm looking for the right fit, and not everything I pull off the rack the first time around is going to look the way I want it to.  So I just have to put it back and pick something else up (or buy it anyway and get it altered, but enough with this analogy).

So it's okay that I worked out only 2 days during the week when I meant to work out 5 days.  Especially when I rarely ever worked out before that.  And it's okay that I stopped journaling every single day, or haven't been able to cut out all that many calories from my diet.  It's okay that I haven't accomplished every single one of my goals yet.  Yet.  The important thing is to not give up, to not throw in the towel and consider it a lost cause.  Because there are no lost causes (now there's a cliche for you, and you're welcome).  So I'm going to do my best to re-inspire and re-motivate myself this week, and to try and pick up where I left off.

What re-motivates you when you find yourself lagging behind?  Music?  Are there certain songs that just completely invigorate you?  Talking it out with someone?  Having impromptu dance parties in inappropriate places?  Would love to hear any suggestions!

When Good Things Happen to Amazing People

When I'm having a particularly bad day -- like today -- I've started trying to make a habit of celebrating the good things that are happening around me, regardless of how crappy I feel.  This may seem a little schizophrenic, but generally what I'm celebrating are things that have been happening not to me, but to the world I live in or to those I care about.  I think somewhere along the way, my world view has become a little too narrow for comfort.  Whether this is a result of living in a self-indulgent society, going through a quarterlife crisis, or just being a selfish person is anyone's guess -- although I really hope it's not the latter.  In any case, I feel like I don't often show enough that I care about those around me or how much their lives affect me in good ways, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if I took the spotlight off of myself for more than just a second on a daily basis, I'd find plenty of things to celebrate.

So in a shocking departure from the norm, I wanted to share a couple of things that have made me want to throw impromptu dance parties at various, and mostly inappropriate, places and times lately:

• One of my best friends got engaged a few months ago and just recently asked me to be a bridesmaid!  Since then our chats have been full of pewter and midnight blue, v-neck or strapless, tea-length or floor, heels, wedges, flowers, venues, deposits and guest lists.  I've known her since we were 12, we went through high school together, lived with one another through college, and I still have a hard time believing that she'll be a wife soon.  She is the raspberry cocktail to my diet coke, the friend I swear I've known in a past life, the girl who fills my memory when I think of some of the funniest moments in my life.  I smile when I imagine her wedding day, how happy she'll be, how much fun she'll have, and knowing that I get to play a part in her day is just gravy.  So I'm celebrating you, Ku'u!

• Another of my best friends swears that when her personal life takes a hit, her professional life soars through the roof.  And though I say she's better off without The Douche anyway, I have to admit that she's got a point because she is kicking so much ass at her job right now!  Currently, she's working at an indie record label and rubbing elbows with people I listen to on my iPod (yeah, I'd hate her if I didn't love her), and things just keep getting better.  Now, her dream job has always been to be involved in A&R -- to work that closely with bands and to support both them and the label in reaching their goals while listening to music she absolutely loves.  And about a week ago, after sending out several emails to various bosses about maybe getting a shot at doing just that...her chance has come around!  She is officially the A&R person for an awesome band who may also just be the nicest guys on earth.  So congratulations, Ka'imi!  You are just as amazing as we always knew you'd be, and you're giving me reason to celebrate!  Dance party!

I hope you all find reasons to celebrate as well, even if they have little to do with you and a lot to do with those you love.  And if you find that, like me, your bad days are only made worse by the fact that nothing in your life seems right or fair or like "it's going the way it's supposed to," try taking a step outside of your head. You may be surprised at how you feel when you come on back.