Charging Through Life

Oh what a difference half a year can make in one's life! Does anyone remember what I was spouting here on my blog just 6 months ago? I was all happy to be leaving The Year From Hell (first runner-up), and I was making these grand plans for the 10 things I would do in 2010. Six months ago I was still in a dead-end job getting no respect and very little money. And back then I knew I wanted something different for my life but didn't know what to ask for.

Now that half of the year is out, let's take a look at the score board, shall we? I was fired (fired, I tell you) from Beachbody. I've been on only a few interviews, all for jobs that were lame and that I was over-qualified for. And my social calendar is surprisingly more free lately.

One might wonder if I'm looking at the next half of the year with optimism or pessimism. Do I see a half-full glass or one that is already half-empy? Am I looking forward to achieving great things still or should I crawl on the couch with a box of Chips-A-Hoy?

Well friends, today I am optimistic because finally, at 34, I actually feel in-control of my long-term destiny. I have been given a gift of time and perspective which I've been using to re-shape my way of thinking. I'm finding an inner confidence which tells me that I can take measured risks and chart an entirely new path that, previously, I wouldn't have had the balls to do.

Delirious? Yea.

Dreaming? Sure.

Unrealistic? I don't think so.

Possible? We're certainly going to find out.

If there is one thing I enjoy, it's doing things the hard way and proving to others just how determined and different I can be. I mean, I was looking to switch jobs in the worse economy in years even when people were telling me to, "learn to love what you already have." But that life, that job, was not enough for me and it didn't matter what the current unemployment rate was, it was time to make a change. That's the trouble with advice, no matter how well-meaning. If it's not the right advice, right for you, it can seep in and distract you. So it's important to learn to listen with a filter.

When I look at the glass today I'm seeing things very differently from the first of the year. It's not half-full and it's not half-empty any more. Because just having those two choices is too limiting for me today. Watch me go out and find a third choice for the state of that glass.