Comments on: The Pitfalls of Behaving

By: » Blogging Your Dreams Strocel.com

» Blogging Your Dreams Strocel.com — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:02:31 +0000

[...] You need to, at minimum, look for another well-laid and secure path. Or, some of us decide to scrap our well-laid and secure paths, and embark on a journey to craft our lives into something [...]

By: Betsy

Betsy — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:14:33 +0000

I love this essay.

Spread your wings, Mama.

Sometimes it will suck, a lot, sometimes it won’t.

I’m pretty sure no one on their deathbed thinks, “I wish I spent less time with my children, less time writing, and more time trying to please faceless corporate entities.”

By: Lady M

Lady M — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:00:11 +0000

I”m so glad you shared this. I also understand the “being good” bit and how freeing it can be to be more unconventional, even if it is downright scary at times.
Lady M´s last post ..Word of the Day

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:56:41 +0000

Thanks for sharing Amber — you are an amazing writer. Like *pol said, “it’s like you have read a passage from my own life”.

For so long I’ve been so afraid of failure that I played by the rules too — go to school, get an engineering degree, get a good job at a fancy schmancy big name company, get a steady paycheque, buy a house… the list goes on.

The more I tried to fit in and do what “everyone else is doing”, the more sad I became. I wasn’t happy making other people’s dreams come true (as an employee) — what about my own dreams — don’t I count? I didn’t enjoy the commuting, sitting in cubicle nation and getting nervous about the annual review wondering if I would or would not get my 2% raise.

After having H, I decided to take my life into my own hands and do something for myself. Was I terrified? Absolutely. EI had stopped, husband was switched from full time to contract at his company and I always questioned whether now was the time to start pursuing my dreams or should I just go back to being “good” for a few more years. With alot of support from my husband, I bit the bullet and became my own boss.

Now 10 months later, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Sure, it’s still a struggle – I don’t make what I used to, my work day doesn’t always end at 5pm and I don’t know if I will ever have work/life balance but at least now I only answer to myself (ok and maybe H and my hubby too )

Even with all the financial struggles and work/life balance issues my husband and I don’t want a do-over. We’re thankful that one of us is able to stay at home with little H instead of sending her off to daycare everyday. Family time is priceless.

You’re a talented and smart woman. I have no doubt that in a few years you will look back and say this was the best decision you’ve ever made
Cheryl´s last post ..Fall has arrived… let the holiday crafting begin!

By: Francesca

Francesca — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:16:44 +0000

Thank you for sharing your fears, Amber. I really appreciate how you can be analytical also when you are concerned, and self criticism doesn’t come easy. I think nobody is quite ready for the bad things in life, whether we spent a life’s worth investing in good behaviour nor not. The key thing is how we pick ourselves up and go forward after pitfalls. You’re doing very well.
Francesca´s last post ..Rake rack

By: kgirl

kgirl — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:48:50 +0000

My husband was laid off while I was on mat leave last year. It was scary, but it allowed him to make changes he would otherwise never have made. Now, he is enjoying a great freelance career and all of the flexibility that freelance allows. And I still have my secure, full-time job with benefits, so it’s a good balance.

Though I will admit that I often wish we could change places.
kgirl´s last post ..Top Ten Tuesday: I Love PVR

By: highlyirritable

highlyirritable — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:31:54 +0000

True talent and passion cannot be supressed. It will find a way of filling all the cracks and corners in your life. You are lucky enough to be someone who recognizes this, and instead of being satisfied with dust in the corners, wants to mud up the fancy furniture.

Pursue happiness.
highlyirritable´s last post ..Tequila to Tetley

By: Capital Mom

Capital Mom — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:09:23 +0000

You are an amazing writer. I love reading your posts everyday, even if I am too lazy to come out of Reader to comment.
You are being brave and going for it. I want to do that too some day. Right now I am still conforming.
Capital Mom´s last post ..Telepathic Conversations: the 1920s edition

By: kate

kate — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:47:37 +0000

We coulnd’t be more opposite if we tried, could we? I can’t relate to your post at all – I have never been good in my life, I was even kicked out of girl guides, for chrissakes. I’ve done lots of illegal things and I can’t promise that I won’t again. Nonetheless, I agree with you that there are a lot of good things if you stick to the Path of COnventionality. Like, long friendships with people who actually live near you (a lot mine are overseas) roots in a place, shizz like that. Those are things that I envy at times now. And the nice thing is, even as you step off the cliff into the unknown, those connections will still be there for you…you have support.

You know what’s ironic? I get being good now more than I did then. Being steady, working away, all that stuff. I feel like I’m swinging more towards ‘good’ as I get older, just as you’re swinging towards unconventional. I like it. I like it a lot. Maybe we could give each other tips? ha.

By: Chantal

Chantal — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:49:26 +0000

You must have a magic ball into my life because I am about to embark a journey similar to yours.