After much consideration, I resigned from my job of twelve years nearly two weeks ago.
There are many who would question such a decision given that I don’t have another opportunity lined up, and I’m also not 100% certain what, or where, that opportunity might be. I just knew that this was the right thing to do and the right time to do it.
For someone who has historically placed logic above all else, admittedly many who hear this news are taken aback. Unfortunately, after what I’ve experienced over the past five years, I’ve learned that life has other plans regardless of what you may have wanted to happen.
Thus, I’ve stopped trying to make any real long-term plans and to accept whatever comes into my life. I don’t look years into the future; right now, I operate on a day-to-day basis (that’s 24 hours), perhaps because I don’t have any other choice.
I recently read an excerpt from a business text published by the Harvard Business Review where the author describes the attitudes of POWs during the Vietnam War. Those who believed they would be in that situation forever fared much better than those who believed they would be released within a certain period of time; the former group’s ability to accept their current circumstances increased their resiliency.
When things aren’t “working,” I think it’s natural to envision a time when things will be working again. Interestingly, it’s a mistake to think this way.
Since 2006, thoughts of a “better future” have centered on a relationship that no longer exists. More recent situations have involved my career and where I live: “This will get better in a few months …” or “I’m only going to live here for a short while …”
Anger and frustration at what “should have been” becomes draining and meaningless in time, but difficult to relinquish all the same. Unfortunately, these same feelings erode one’s resilience, and it’s a downward spiral from there.
Based upon my experience, I think one’s ability to “weather the storm” requires resilience, and surprisingly a pessimistic attitude (i.e. things may never change, but eventually everything ends). The ability to “live life” centers around the ability to “fail quickly” (i.e. perseverance) and a strong sense of one’s self / purpose. Everything else is supplementary, and should be considered a “bonus” because nothing in life, and no one, is guaranteed.