Why I Quit My Job

18 May 2009 in Career

I left an amazing job with great friends, incredible security, challenging opportunities, a respectable salary, a recent promotion, a significant bonus, an excellent pension just years away, and solid medical and other benefits.

Why would I make such a foolish decision, leaving a dream job for nothing in particular? Every time someone asks me, I have a new answer. I’m in a rut. I want to be self-employed. I lost my mojo. I want to cross some items off my “bucket list” while I’m still young enough to enjoy them. Work takes all my energy. The list goes on and on, and they all boil down to two things. First, I want to pursue some of my dreams. Second, I lost job satisfaction over the years. Together, the timing was enough to convince me to go for it.

I’ve had people tell me that going for it isn’t the smartest decision. The economy is in the toilet. There is no guarantee I could get my old job back if I tried. I’m not a trust-fund baby. I’m not independently wealthy. I don’t have wealthy friends or relatives. I don’t even have a place to live. In fact, my mom has a history of kicking me out of her house, so I have no safe haven! This has to be the worst decision of my life.

One thought has pushed me to ignore the few naysayers, at least temporarily. Life is so short and can be changed so abruptly by forces outside our control. I feel compelled to take every opportunity to live it to the fullest.

My inner conflict in making this life-changing decision reminds me of the shoulder angel and shoulder devil seen in comic strips and sitcoms. On my right shoulder, a stern-faced angel is telling me to stay the course, to continue playing by the rules, and to stop having foolish romanticized thoughts. To my left, a funloving devil with a pitchfork is telling me I need to try things his way for once, that I’m only getting older and won’t have this opportunity again, and that I can always change my mind if things don’t work out.

The little devil won this latest round.

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18 May 2009 Career

16 Comments to Why I Quit My Job

  1. Yeah – glad to see your blog is finally up! I’m anxious to hear more details about your travel plans.

  2. Storm on 21 May 2009
  3. I can’t wait to see what you do with this…nice post :)

  4. SHAC on 22 May 2009
  5. You will not regret your decision. I did the same thing you did and have no regrets about my RTW trip.

  6. brian from nodebtworldtravel.com on 22 May 2009
  7. I just got your mail and I have to say that I’m really proud of your decision. This post just tells the truth and I really wish you the best in this travel..Life’s short, and you’ll never have regrets about that.

    Let me know if you need some contacts in some place, I’d love to help you :)

    Romain

  8. Romain on 23 May 2009
  9. You only live once.

  10. Glenn on 2 June 2009
  11. Go Tigger go! I’m thankful for your time & service to our country.

  12. Frasier on 2 June 2009
  13. Tigger I had no Idea! Best of luck. You can always figure out a way to get free pizza! Ha ha

  14. Heed on 3 June 2009
  15. Frasier and Heed, thanks for your support! Heed, I know I can always count on you for a large pepperoni pizza, even if you don’t know about it until the next week. Frasier, thank you! I would have made it your ceremony if I didn’t have my own event going on.

  16. Brook on 3 June 2009
  17. Hey Cuz! I just found this blog of yours. Your a great person and I’m real happy for you. I hope your huge adventure is going good! I think it is wise to listen to yourself first, thats the only person you really have to live with all your life. But I’m not the sharpest tool… I’m excited to see what cool things you do with your time. Good luck!

  18. Matt Sweitzer on 30 July 2009
  19. Thanks Matt! I don’t know how long I’ll be doing this before moving onto something else, but it sure has been fun and relaxing so far.

  20. Brook on 30 July 2009
  21. Though with different circumstances, I can so relate to the feelings or the reasons: Pursuing a dream and loss of job satisfaction. I admire your courage to make this decision. You won’t regret it– you might ask, why did I wait so long! What an extraordinary opportunity!

    I only wish the best for you in your future.

  22. @GotPassport on 20 August 2009
  23. [...] Why I Quit My Job | Ends of Earth http://www.endsofearth.com/2009/05/why-i-quit-my-job – view page – cached Brook Sweitzer travels the world and brings you his story and images — From the page [...]

  24. Twitter Trackbacks for Why I Quit My Job | Ends of Earth [endsofearth.com] on Topsy.com on 20 August 2009
  25. Brook,
    Just found your website. This is an awesome idea to journal you travels. I’m glad you didn’t listen to the naysayers. This will be the greatest experience of you life. If you chose to return to that old job it will still be waiting and you will be a wiser man for your travels. Hope all is well stay safe. Remember you still have family in the 20th we listed you as family traveling abroad when the AF conducted an accountability recall following the earthquake in the south Pacific. Take care and God bless!

  26. Aggie on 19 October 2009
  27. Thank you Aggie! It’s great to know I wasn’t forgotten two weeks after leaving!

  28. Brook on 19 October 2009
  29. Hi Brook,

    I just finish reading your blog this time… your experience like a movie called : into the wild…you should watch it.. good start to enrich your traveling’ world… & like a novel entitled: honeymoon with my brother..

    Take care & continues travelin.

    Marlina

  30. Marlina on 2 February 2010
  31. Marlina, I’ve seen that movie and skimmed the book. I really enjoyed the movie, and especially like Eddie Vedder’s music in it.

    I think that kid was much more adventurous (and naive) than me. I’m actually a bit paranoid about my safety, avoiding activities and places where I think I could get killed or injured.

    Thanks for reading and commenting!

  32. Brook on 3 February 2010

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