I have been there: Sitting in a gray cubicle (really, they had to make them gray?) and dreaming of a way out, yearning for a way to stop wasting time and start doing something that I was passionate about…and to start living my life with purpose.

My own journey with my online wellness business has had its ups and downs, but now, as I type this, I am immensely thankful for this life I have created.

To be able to follow my heart, to live out my truth, to speak with authenticity, and to make money from it all. It all seems too good to be true.

How do you know you are ready to take the big leap and bring passion back into your daily life?

After starting several businesses, and having successes and failures along the way, I have reflected upon my time in the corporate world and realized how many signs were right in front of me for years, telling me that wasn’t the world for me.

Here are five ways you can tell if you need to make a change and start living your authentic life:

1. Living for the Weekends. This is how it starts. We all enjoy spending time with friends and family, but if it is Monday afternoon and you’re already looking to see what is going on Friday night, then you are not living in the present. I’ve been there and done that but trust me, it is much better to enjoy your daily life. Each and every day.

2. Dreading the Alarm on Monday (or even worse, getting anxiety Sunday night). This feeling of dread is a sure fire sign that you are miserable and you need to make a change. This dread starts to chip away at us, and week after week, it starts to diminish you as a person and will eventually extinguish your flame. Occasional feelings of discontent are normal, but when the dread becomes the norm, it is time to make a shift.

3. Feeling a little twinge of resentment when your self-made friend talks about how great her business is doing. Jealousy and resentment are ugly traits, no doubt. But when we can no longer be happy for friends who have made the leap and followed their passion, then we must look within. Most often, these feelings are a reflection of what we truly long for and another sign that we need to start pursuing our own passions.

4. You don’t like the people you work with and/or the company culture. We don’t have to love everyone we work, with but if the company’s values don’t align with your own, or if many of the people you work with day-in and day-out are bringing you down, then it may be time to make a change. If you have tried talking with your manager about certain individuals and/or making positive changes within the company itself, to no avail, then it’s time to move on.

5. Your health is being compromised. Run, don’t walk. Without your health, you simply have nothing. If the stress from your job is affecting your physical or mental health, you need to get out of there. I have been there. I would start getting severe stomach pain as I drove off the freeway exit to my former corporate job. My workman’s comp doctor ran tests and said I had a solid case. I didn’t pursue that case; instead, I quit, without another job lined up. I quit because my health is most important, and the doctor telling me the job stress was affecting my health was the wakeup call I needed. Let me be that wake-up call for you.

If one or more of these situations resonates with you, then it is time to consider making a change.

If I sound like I know what I’m talking about, it is because I do. I have experienced all of these at one point or another in my career and I can honestly say, looking back, that I wish someone had been my wake-up call. I wasted too many years believing I was doing the “right thing,” following the socially approved path.

The big leap can be scary, but trust me, nothing worth doing is ever easy.

 

    Author: Therese Patterson

    Apprentice Editor: Annie R. Towns/Editor: Emily Bartran

    Image: Damian Zaleski/Unsplash