It’s true. I would have loved to keep going on this journey for another year or two but a variety of factors made this the best option. Every time that I have left a job in my life, it always feels lighter afterward than the weight of concern that I may be making a mistake I felt beforehand. After I made it through the discussions, the enticing offers to stay, the transitioning, and then the final happy hour goodbyes, I found myself just feeling ready for the trip.
Like when you have planned a long road trip for weeks and packed the car and after finally tying up all the loose ends of your preparation you finally pull out of the driveway and all you have to do now is do it. There is a lightness to it and a realization that this could be one of those moments that you remember. I am going to try to set a very low bar for the first couple of months and purposefully not consider any new endeavors all the while knowing that I am super ADD and always have to be doing something (like writing a blog haha). I’m sure you will hear all about my daily plan and my living the dream list but I want to just slow down and take a look at some moments from the first couple weeks.
My First Couple Weeks Outside the Maze
Started Muay Thai kickboxing at an MMA gym thinking that I will go once a day but woke up the next morning hardly able to move and decided to shoot for 3 times a week. Bruised and battered my knees and shins learning how to throw knees and kicks on the heavy bag:
Craigslisted all that old crap out of the garage, caught the tail end of fall color changes with a hike in the Mountains:
Had a long breakfast with my mom. Audited and categorized our spend for the last 2 years, finally cleaned all that stuff I had been meaning to, grilled myself a burger at noon on a Tuesday:
Had lunch with an old friend, did some volunteer work, explored this cave I had always seen from the road but never been in:
Evaluated some investments, paddle boarded on an empty lake because everyone else was working:
Repaired my car, went on a fishing trip with some friends floating some of the best fly water in the country:
Lifestyles of The Independent & Shameless
I know it all looks like champagne wishes and caviar dreams right? Well my version of it anyway. And of course it is and it should be for the first few weeks right? The real questions though are going to be over the long term. Will I get bored? How will I attempt to replace all of the things I got from my more traditional job? Will I gravitate back toward some other full time employment for non-monetary reasons? Will I have the discipline and strength to keep good habits when there is nothing there to enforce them other than the goofball mugging in the photos above? Or is this a mid-life Crisis? Stay tuned and let’s find out.
