Relief

I’m wrapping up day two of “Funemployment.” My last day working for a normal job in a normal office was on Friday, and boy-oh-boy have I already learned some stuff.

I never realized how much anxiety I was experiencing on a regular basis due to the mere fact that I knew I had to wake up and be at work at 8:00 every day. There were times when I found myself “in the zone” on a fun project, or deep in a meaningful conversation, or even just out having fun when the wall of dread would press down on my chest and shoulders.

“You have to be back at work in 7 hours. You’re going to dread the alarm clock tomorrow.”

The biggest difference I’ve noticed in myself is that the dead weight that I felt like I was carrying around is gone… and I’m not even getting more sleep. Just better sleep. Anxiety-free sleep.

My morning routine now consists of the following:

• Wake up (around 8:30 am)
• Cook a good breakfast (8:45 – 9:15 am)
• Exercise (9:15 – 10:30 am)

By the time I hit 10:30, I feel amazing, and I can tackle the upcoming hours with a fresh mind, and a bit of Christmas morning-esque excitement.

I may not have an guaranteed income right now, but I’d trade money for peace of mind any day, now that I’ve experienced it.

It’s official, I quit my job.

For nearly a year, I’ve been in charge of Tony Roma’s social media presence, and their website. I’ve run email campaigns, helped set up a new SMS marketing program. I’ve run contests, built an intranet from scratch, traveled a lot, and even had my own office. My coworkers have become some of my closest friends, and I get free Tony Roma’s food pretty much any time I want.

I must have a pretty sweet gig lined up to leave a situation like that, eh? Nope.

I’m not leaving because I have another job offer. To be honest, the only think I know for sure right now is that I have to be out of my apartment by the 1st of May. I’m not sure where I’m going. and I’m definitely not sure what I’ll be doing. All I know is that I need a change, and that life is too short not to be living a life I love.

Most people might think I’m crazy to walk away from a gig in sunny Florida, where I get pretty much free reign to do whatever I want on the social web for a company with a presence in over 30 countries… and maybe they’re right. I am a little crazy.

I’m currently working on selling all of my possessions until everything that I own can fit into my Mini Cooper.

In the next few months, I’ll be spending a lot of time at the beach, reading and writing, and working on some pet projects that I’ve been putting off.

I figure it’s time for me to try to find out what I want to do with my life. I wand to do what I love, rather than what’s easy.

I hope you join me on my journey. All feedback, encouragement, and ideas are welcome.

I don’t know anybody who doesn’t want to be in love.

I mean, love is awesome.

We all want to find that person who brings out the best in us. You know what I’m talking about. That person who makes you hum with a steady charge of electricity when lock eyes across the room. That person who makes you wonder how the world ever felt right before they were around. That person whose presence can transform even the worst of days into something blissful and magical.

As amazing as love is, if you want love bad enough, sometimes you end up looking for it in the wrong places.

For example: Love does not come from pursuing relationships. Relationships (at least the good ones) come from pursuing what you love.

It’s easy easy to spend so much mental and emotional energy and time on the idea of being in love that we forget to actually experience it. I’ve seen many friends desperate for love. They are constantly on the prowl for a potential mate. They, like many of us, do not like to be alone. They’ll let anybody into their lives because, well, you never know. They might be “the one.”

Normally, relationships that begin this way feel empty, and are based mostly on filling a void with temporary bouts of passion rather than true feelings of love.  These relationships often end with a lot of anxiety and pain… or worse, feeling like a prisoner in your own relationship with no way out. This is what happens when you try to find love in a person instead of finding love in yourself by doing the things truly make you happy.

If you don’t want to feel trapped in your relationships, do what you love. If you find someone to love while pursuing the things you love, you’ll never wake up in the middle of the night in a fit of anxiety wondering how you ended up where you are.

Learning to be comfortable and happy while you’re alone and pursuing your passions is far more important (and far more rewarding) than desperately trying to find your perfect match in a dark box full of upside-down puzzle pieces.

Love yourself. Love your work. And true love will follow.