Do you ever get so caught up in your daily routine that you forget what you truly want out of life? Or perhaps you know what you want out of life, but it feels intangible, so you put it on your “someday” list. A few months ago, I found myself somewhere in between. I had been working for a reputable company for over 12 years when my position was eliminated due to downsizing and restructuring. The news didn’t have the impact that I thought it would have on me. I thought that I would feel devastated and lost, but instead, I felt elated and free. Rather than dwelling on the negative, I saw it as an opportunity to start over and create the life that I wanted. I believed that the universe was guiding me in a new direction, and I had to follow.
“You have to know that the universe is always on time.”
Helga Landis
Over the past few months, I have experienced a mix of emotions. There were moments of joy and excitement due to good things coming my way, but also moments of fear and self-doubt that made me question myself and consider returning to my comfort zone. To overcome this negativity, I had to stop asking, “What if I fail?” and start asking, “What if I succeed?” This change in mindset helped me to push through the tough times and refocus my energy. After spending several months expanding my knowledge, developing new skills, and building my business plan, I feel more confident than ever that I am on the right path.
How Do Lobsters Grow?
Have you ever wondered how lobsters grow? They grow by moulting. When their shell becomes uncomfortable, the lobster will cast off the shell and grow a new one. They repeat this process several times. One day during a team meeting, my former leader shared the wisdom of Dr. Abraham Twerski and his analogy of How Do Lobsters Grow? In the video clip, Dr. Twerski explains “The stimulus for the lobster to be able to grow is that it feels uncomfortable…we have to realize that times of stress are also times that are signals for growth and, if we use adversity properly, we can grow through adversity.” Growth and change can be uncomfortable and even terrifying, but they are both an essential part of life.
Follow Your Bliss
It is advisable to follow one’s passions to find fulfillment in life. However, this advice can be overly romanticized and may not always be practical or feasible. Joseph Campbell was a mythologist and writer who coined the phrase “follow your bliss.” He later revised the phrase to “follow your blisters” when people mistakenly thought that he was encouraging hedonism. In his book, The Power of Myth, he explained:
Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.
So how do we follow our bliss? One way is to reflect on the activities that you enjoyed during your youth that you still enjoy now as an adult. You can also consider the tasks that you have enjoyed in your various job positions over the years. The activities that bring us a sense of fulfillment and challenge are what we call our “bliss.” Following our bliss can lead us to our intended life, where we don’t feel the unwavering need for a vacation or to retire. Living our intended life is the key to unlocking our happiness. I believe the reason why so many of us struggle with managing stress and depression is that we spend too much of our precious time on this earth doing things that don’t fulfill or challenge us to be our authentic selves.
What’s Next
In the coming months, I will be working on expanding my writing portfolio and virtual assistance business. I will focus on providing services such as writing, content creation, social media marketing, copy editing, and proofreading. I’m thrilled with the prospect of being self-employed and being able to pursue work that aligns with my “bliss.”
If you have an inspirational story about starting over or “following your bliss,” please share your story in the comments.
