It’s that time of year again, time for us to celebrate the incredible amount of freedom that is available to so many of us as far as when and where we do our work. Whether you have been working from home for years, you just started working from home, or you are still in the “thinking about it” phase, right now is a great time to think about the freedom that working from home brings (or could bring) to your life.
This year, it is worth mentioning that I just gained an even greater amount of freedom through my home – based work. A while ago, I realized that working as a freelance writer is a really great fit for me both personally and professionally. I also realized that my other home – based business, the tiny little law practice which I worked so very hard to get licensed for and spent so much time and money maintaining, is not such a great fit for me. Sure, my clients were happy, but all the while I felt like I was doing someone else’s job, or wearing someone else’s clothes or something like that. Instead of renewing my law license, I elected to retire from the practice of law at the ripe old age of 35 because it’s just not “me”.
Of course, as with any big decision, there was a fair amount of trepidation as I filled out the relicensing form online a few days ago. After a few minutes of what – ifing and general hemming and hawing, I finally just pressed the “send” button. One minute later, I received email confirmation that I had officially chosen to retire. If I had made the wrong decision, that email would certainly have sent me into panic mode. Instead, I felt nothing really, just a little strange that filling out one little online form had resulted in something so final.
The next day I noticed that I felt happier. I was more patient with my kids, and I caught myself feeling more relaxed and able to enjoy my day. I was even happier with my role as a stay at home mom. By the end of the day, I realized that closing up my little law office was indeed a great decision. I had no idea that something which I devoted relatively little time to could have been stressing me out so much. I still feel that way, four days later. It feels like a weight has been lifted. Perhaps that’s what it feels like to leave a career that you don’t love, one that doesn’t fit you, in favor of one that is true to you.
Photo by earl53 on morguefile.com