In a recent podcast interview, I was asked a time travel question on what decision I would have changed when it comes to finances. It was easy for me to say that I would have changed signing a lease with a romantic partner too soon. That decision snowballed and was compounded by external job losses due to budget cuts then the end of that relationship caused the implosion of my life structures, routines, etc.
My stable life as a mild-mannered librarian who craved stability had been turned upside down.
Essentially the universe kicked my ass.
Cue quarter-life crisis.
Everything changed and I realized that I needed to start over.
I found myself changing my people, places, and things. I started working as a career specialist for an inner-city drop-in space. I moved in with my best friend. I discovered personal development. I also did all the things that I wanted but couldn’t due to dress codes so I got an undercut hairstyle, pierced my nose, and dyed pink streaks in my hair.
Delayed hair rebellion, I guess.
It was hard to start over but that clean slate was what gave me space in my life to start a remote business and begin my journey as a digital nomad.
That kick in the pants got me out of the door.
Would I have stopped listening to the digital nomad podcasts and actually have done it without the booty kick?
I don’t know. I doubt it.
I was like Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit. I would have stayed in my Hobbit-y comfort zone without that push to go on the adventure of my life.
I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to live and travel in over a dozen countries, meet fabulous people, have speaking engagements on three continents, and make a difference in the careers of tech professionals around the world.
When the bad, the inconvenient, the unexpected happens, we naturally focus on what the losses were instead of thinking of what we can now put in its place.
Sure, there are plenty of terrible events that can’t be reframed, I get that. You can’t Pollyanna everything in life. HOWEVER, there are silver linings of a lot of events when you look for them.
Life is easier when you regroup and look for the next step instead of looking back with regret. We can either think that things happen to us or that things happen for us.
The choice is yours!