I’ve seen a lot of folks sharing online, some I know, some I just follow, about starting new jobs this month—which is AWESOME. What a way to start a new year, with a true fresh start. It’s like wiping the slate clean and the whole rest of the entire year is just full of possibilities like a wide open highway just waiting for you to hug those curves with your new Porsche.
Starting a new job can be exciting for many reasons, but I think one aspect that is particularly appealing is something of an idealistic notion that we can make this new position anything we want it to be. When the truth is, there are a lot of variables (boss’s expectations, culture issues, coworker personalities, etc.) that we’ll have to contend with, but won’t really know about them until we encounter them.
Why does this matter?
I bring this up because I think it’s easy to have unrealistic expectations about anything new in life: a new job, a new relationship, a new city, a new house. We place all of our hopes and dreams onto this one change we have made when, at the end of the day, it’s still, well, a job. A job/relationship/city/house that may not have the same issues as the last job/relationship/city/house, but it will still have issues.
The other thing I see happen with these new, bigger life changes is people saying they are going to wait until they get the new job/relationship/city/house and THEN they will make plans, or take action on something they’ve been putting off for a while.
Like writing a book.
Or getting back into your art, whatever medium it is.
They say, “Oh I’m just going to wait until my new job starts, and then figure out how to make time for my art.”
Or, “Oh, I’m just going to wait to see where this new relationship goes and then I will…”
Or, “Oh I’m just going to wait until I can move to my dream city and then I will…”
Or, “Oh I’m just going to wait until I feel settled in my house and then I will…”
Listen. There is always a reason to wait.
Starting a new job, new relationship, moving to a new city or a new house, or [fill-in-the-blank] is not a good enough reason to put off your creative work.
Because, guess what? After you start that new job, there’s gonna be another reason to wait!
Look, there is no reason you should be fitting your creative life AROUND any of these things: around a job, a relationship, a city, a house, etc.
No.
It should be the other way around.
You figure out your creative life and then your job, relationship, city, house, fits adjusts and accommodates for YOU.
Now, maybe you are sitting there shaking your head because a job, especially, doesn’t accommodate for YOU. But that’s just it. That’s the old world, pre-pandmic reality talking. We all know that employees have more leverage now (within reason). And what I mean by that is: when it’s time to start a new job, as soon as you have your creative life in order, you can say to your employer, this is what I need in order for this to work for me.
Believe me, I have seen it happen.
The only thing holding you back in this situation is YOU.
- It’s YOU telling yourself that it will never work.
- It’s YOU telling yourself they’ll never go for it.
- It’s YOU telling yourself that’s not the way things are done.
- It’s YOU telling yourself that you have to wait until…
Hey, it’s the new year, and it’s the perfect time to stop waiting for the stars to align. Because here’s a little secret: they will never align exactly the way you think they need to, and that means if you don’t act now, prioritize your writing and your creative life, then when will you?
Comment below to let me know if you’re ready to stop waiting.