Feb 14 2008
Get Rid of Your Options
Day 8 and still going strong (writing in the morning works SO much better for me!)…
I like to keep my options open, don’t you? It’s good to have options–it feels great to have the freedom to change direction, do different things, take a new job, etc. But I’m beginning to think that having options isn’t that great for me. In fact, it might be what’s keeping me from achieving my goals.
Right now, for example, I have lots of options. I could stay in my current job as a consultant for the federal government. The money’s good and will only get better, and I love my coworkers. Sure, the job is stressful, but I’m never bored. I could ask my consulting company for a new assignment with one of our other clients. It would be the same type of work, but with new faces and a change of scenery. I could decide to go back to working directly for the government–you can’t beat the job security! Or I could start looking for jobs in the private sector in a field I’ve worked in before (defense, international trade, or business consulting) or in an entirely new area. No matter which option I ultimately choose, I’ll always find a way to squeeze in some writing, right?
But what if I didn’t have any choice but to make a living through my writing? What if were on my own and I didn’t have a job–no other way of generating income but to write? How motivated and focused would I be? How committed would I be to producing the best work of my life, then tirelessly marketing it to get it published? Pretty damn committed.
I think there will come a time when I’m going to have to take away my options. (This is the part where my stomach starts to hurt and visions of poverty dance through my head.) That’s right, at some point, I’m going to have to quit working and write full-time. Because I’m married and something like this needs to be a joint decision, I’ll have to negotiate some conditions with my husband. I, for one, would like to have all of my credit cards and private student loans paid off before I quit, and I’d like to have a working draft of my novel. Once I’ve met those two conditions (as long as my hubby’s in agreement, and I’m confident that he will be), I’m going to resign.
And that’s not all–I need to set a concrete deadline. Otherwise, I could procrastinate on paying my bills and take my sweet-ass time putting together a draft and stretch this process out for ten years. Unacceptable. So on May 28, 2009 , I’m going to quit my job and either write full-time or take a job that allows me more time to write (part time or summers off).
God, that’s terrifying.
What about you? What options could you take away to force you to achieve your goals?
This article was featured in the Personal Development Carnival–stop by to check out great articles on personal development.
Hey, are you getting my emails? I got two from you and have now sent three, the first one just today said it was undeliverable. Darn the Internet and it not delivering instant gratification!
Anyway, this is a great topic. Currently, I bartend two nights a week in addition to my day job. I am rapidly getting out of debt. This only leaves me 3 nights a week to work on building a coaching business, and I’m usually pretty tired.
I can’t quit bartending until two specific debts are paid off. I had mentioned to my husband that I’d like to build a cushion of savings before I quit bartending completely. Well, maybe that should be the option I take away from myself. Bartending is easy money and it accumulates quickly. If I quit, I would be forced to focus on building a coaching business to create that cushion. Of course, I want coaching to eventually be my full-time gig, so I need to get to where I am building a full-time business, not just dilly dallying on the side.
I wish I knew what it was that I wanted to do, so I could make a goal like that. I admire you for it, I just don’t see how to get myself there. In time, I hope.
Happy valentine’s day to you and your sweetie!
Leah, I did get your email today. I just sent you another one–let me know if you don’t get it!
As someone who always wants to “keep my options open” I never really thought about how having too many can get in the way of really moving forward.
But total commitment to anything is so scary! I like to hide behind choices as long as I can.
Hey, the emails keep getting bounced back to me too.
hmmm take away? I guess I don’t know. That is a good question. I wish I just had more time but that is adding lol… hmmmm….
Can I take away fear of failure? That would probably help me.
This post was with me all night last night while I was working. I was reminded that I don’t love bartending the way I used to. I don’t have fun anymore. Most of it is where I work, but as I sit here at my real job, sucking down coffee, which I only drink on Fridays, and worrying about staying awake to get through this day and another shift tonight, it does really feel like the costs are beginning to outweigh the rewards.
Like I said before, there are two debts that I must clear up before I can quit. But now I know that I have to buckle down even more than I already have to get them out of the way so that I can focus on building a lifelong and life fulfilling career.
Thanks again for this post. It was an eye opener for me.
Wow, what a huge step that would be! But you’re absolutely right, if you don’t make definite plans to do something you’re much more likely to stretch it out — and you don’t want ten years to go by before you follow your dream. You’re lucky to have such a supportive husband, too.
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[…] rid of your options. I wrote an entire post about this one. This technique works particularly well with the Talking Self. Talking Self knows […]