Upending Our Lives

In a light-hearted text exchange with a friend, he suggested I write a blog post about “not stressing out while trying to upend our lives.” I think that comment may have been rhetorical, but you get a post anyway! When we take the road less traveled, abandon comfort, and risk all that we perceive as normal, stress is sure to follow. I can’t even explain the amount of stress I’ve experienced since leaving my prior career. The bills will be paid this month, but what about next month? What about the month after that? I have a bunch of client contracts expiring soon……will they keep me around or move on? Will Northern Vessel continue to perform at a high level? When will the next paid speaking gig come? Will anyone want to sponsor our podcast? Yeah, this stuff is EXTREMELY stressful.

With all that being said, I’ll take this stress every single day of the week over a different kind of stress. Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. The stress of waking up every day with a feeling of dread or mere tolerance for what you’re about to do. The stress of knowing your job security and compensation is in the hands of a collection of people that could simply cut you at a moment’s notice. The stress of doing tasks you simply don’t believe in or see value in. The stress of wanting something different, but being too scared or overwhelmed to go after it. That’s the kind of stress that will eat one’s soul.

I’ll take my stress any day of the week. It can be daunting, overwhelming, and crushing at times……but it’s tied to meaning, purpose, and impact. We absolutely upended our lives when we made our shift nearly four years ago. Neither Sarah nor I would claim it was easy…..but we’ll both testify to our graves that it was worth it. A whole lot of stress, combined with a whole lot of meaning!