Misery will be fine without you

“Many of us equate difficulty with virtue─ and art with fooling around. A terrible job must be building our moral fiber. Something that comes to us easily and seems compatible with us must be some sort of cheap trick, not to be taken seriously. Creativity lives in paradox: serious art is born from serious play.” –Julia Cameron The Artist’s Way

I know I moan and complain rather a lot about the topic of working in the corporate world. That’s why the line in the above quote ─a terrible job must be building our moral fiber─ definitely struck a nerve.

For most of us, the saying what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is a badge of honor we wear. We proudly display our horrendous jobs; the fact that stress is weighing down on our emotional and physical well-being. We act like it’s courageous that we stay in these lousy jobs. We pretend there is no way out.

The truth is there is a simple way out; simple, yet hard. Following your ambitions and going after your soul’s desire is not something for the faint of heart. It seems that it’s easier to settle than it is to take that leap into the unknown.

So often we get consumed by the comfort of misery. We stay in the awful because it is familiar; we know what to expect. If we venture outside of that realm, what should we expect? The unknown and the expanding and often overwhelming world of what if is enough to keep our feet planted for a lifetime.

I hope that if you’re reading this, you feel uncomfortable. That uneasy feeling is your heart telling you that you’re not letting yourself reach your full potential. You have the ability to be amazing. The world needs you more than you’ll know. Do yourself and mankind a favor and go after whatever it is that makes your body vibrate. We need you to come alive.