At one point way back when, I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life. But later on I found myself pursuing happiness rather than living happiness. That led to me searching Google for the answer to:
“What should I do with my life?”
Among the millions of results was an interview with Po Bronson about his book What Should I Do with My Life? – but I must say that I wasn’t inspired to read the whole book after reading sample chapters online. The quality of the writing is really disappointing, as if nobody read the book before it was published. Bronson spent two years interviewing 900 people who’d asked that same question; among the interviewees was a lawyer who’d become a truck driver and an investment banker who had switched to catfish farming. These men wanted to be closer to their children while doing something they liked.
These stories stayed with me, and in 2009 I gave up my stable job (and life) in New York City and moved to Paris when I met someone. I’d found myself increasingly asking what in the world I was doing at a desk in midtown Manhattan suffering from stress-related illnesses while I didn’t even aspire to the career I was pursuing anymore. Why not move to Paris? I’d established a savings fund and I figured in Paris, while trying a relationship with someone I thought was special, I’d have time to write and to travel — to pursue my biggest passion. Though it turned out I’d met the wrong someone, I still have my passions.
And I’m glad I left my unhappy job.
What did or would it take for you to change from an unhappy job? What catalyst would cause you to pursue happiness?
(Image courtesy of thephotographymuse under a Creative Commons Attribution generic license.)
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