Hey everyone,
You are allowed to change your mind.
This has been one of the biggest revelations in my life and I have to admit, it took me years to understand that if I had realized that something was wrong for me, I had no obligation to follow through on it. I have walked away from an engagement, several businesses, and a few book deals.
Because here’s the thing: Just because you started something, doesn’t mean you have to finish it.
I’m not being contrary. I’m a big fan of finishing. In fact, I’m so committed to it that I run an entire community that focuses on bringing things to completion.
But I am not, and never will be, committed to finishing everything.
I’m committed to finishing the right things, the projects that are in alignment for me.
I have zero regrets or problems walking away from relationships, projects, or deals that I have realized are wrong for me, even if I’m 90% of the way there. Sure, it would sometimes be easier to just get the last 10% done and get it over with, but that’s simply no longer how I choose to live my life or spend my days. The moment I realize something is wrong for me, I walk away.
I may well have wasted many days, weeks, months, or years on something that’s not in alignment, but if I’ve realized this truth, why waste more?
I believe in finishing. But I believe in finishing the things that I know will get me to my dream life.
I realized a week or so ago that despite all the work I’ve put in, the new direction I was thinking of for this business is simply not the right fit. And I was reminded of this post I wrote some time ago on my Facebook page:
Forget what you SHOULD be doing.
What do you WANT to be doing?
What would make you jump out of bed in the morning, excited to get on with your day? What do you want to write that meets not market expectations, but YOUR expectations? What story do you want to tell that will feel right to you? What words do you want to write that make you happy?
Of course there are things you should be doing and you’ll need to do them. But are you also doing what you WANT to be doing?
Creative dissatisfaction doesn’t just descend upon you one fine day out of nowhere. It arrives one “should” at a time. With each should that you take on and each want that you let go of.
Do the shoulds. But never at the expense of the wants.
Know what I did? I fell (once again) into the trap of shoulds rather than wants. Because what do I want to do? I want to blog. I want to send emails. I want to send them every day. And I want to talk about whatever the hell shows up in my mind that particular day without reservation, without sugarcoating, without overthinking it.
I want to read. I want to write. I want to travel.
What did I do instead?
I started overthinking it.
But, and this is where I’m proud of my ruthlessness in walking away from the wrong path in service of my dreams: I caught myself. I caught myself at 80% completion rather than at 100% when I’d be knee deep and wondering why my life didn’t look like what I wanted it to be.
I realized that I was heading towards something that would provide temporary satisfaction to the ego at the expense of long-term happiness to the creative soul.
So I’ve decided not to do that.
I’m going back to basics, to what I really (really really) wanted to do in the first place.
Daily emails with thoughts, inspiration, slice-of-life stories, tips from my own journey, and whatever else catches my fancy. No bells and whistles. No frills and fancies.
If it’s freelancing advice you want, you’ll find it at The International Freelancer.
But if you want me, more of what I have to say, then stay here. I’ve got things to share, about writing, about being an Indian woman in the publishing industry, about my current experiences in the book world, and what’s happening with my novels. Some of it is incredible, some of it is work that we, as a community, still need to do. Oh, and I have two more books coming out this year. I want to talk about those, too.
So, freelancing? Go to The International Freelancer.
Just me and my thoughts on the writing life, the future we face, and the challenges that we are writers need to prepare for? Stick around.
I’ve got a lot to say and I think you’re going to like it.
Cheers,
Natasha