How I Let Go of a High-Paying Job to Follow My Passion
It was the best decision I ever made
How I Let Go of a High-Paying Job to Follow My Passion — AI Image by Author (Bing).
You know those “dream jobs”, right? The ones with permanent contracts, company benefits, and all the rest? Well, at the age of 20, I found myself in exactly one of those coveted situations. A nice government job with a desk, a landline, and the classic office routine.
Like the promised land
At first, it seemed like the promised land. No more worries about the future, just follow the procedures and bring home the paycheck.
After the passing of a few months, a sensation began to overcome me — a sensation akin to that which a small rodent might experience when confined within a rotating exercise device. Day after day, I found myself submerged beneath towering piles of documented materials, engaging in an unending series of verbal exchanges via the telephone, and participating in gatherings that appeared to serve little substantive purpose.
Suffocating
Almost as if that “security” was a gilded cage that was suffocating my true essence.
One day, during one of our frantic lunch breaks where we had to gulp down our food like inmates, I absentmindedly flipped through an old notebook. And there, among the notes, stood out two sentences that I had transcribed who knows when:
“Better is one’s own law of works, though in itself faulty, than an alien law well-wrought out. One does not incur sin when one acts in agreement with the law of one’s own nature."
(Bhagavad Gita)
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
(Steve Jobs)
Calls to freedom
Not just any old words, right? It was like being woken up from a long slumber. Those ancient and modern calls to freedom made me realize that I was living the life that someone else had planned for me. A pre-determined path of routine and compromises instead of my authentic journey.
So, what do you think I did? That’s right, I kicked that stupid desk in the butt! With a mocking smile on my face, I handed in my resignation in front of the shocked looks of my colleagues. I could almost hear them thinking, “Are you crazy? You’re throwing away your security!”
True passion
And they were right, I let go of all that good stuff to return to my true passion: writing. A much less “secure” path, but one that finally allowed me to embrace my essence instead of suffocating it.
Sure, it hasn’t all been a bed of roses. There have been tough times, financially speaking. But not once have I regretted that gilded cage. Because I’ve realized that true wealth lies in being faithful to ourselves, imperfections and all.
Follow your nature
So, the appeal is this: don’t let society cage you in a life that doesn’t belong to you. Don’t waste your precious time on this Earth chasing goals imposed by others. Even if small and imperfect, your authentic essence is a unique gem. Embrace it with courage and let it shine in all its glory.
Only then will you know the freedom and fulfilment of realizing yourself, a treasure that no gilded cage can ever match.
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