Guidance on Autumn goal/decision making

Hello, 

I have been working on the Autumn workshop for the past few days and I need some guidance on choosing my goals and priorities.
Bit of context: my long term goal is to transition into an illustration career (probably very long term, as it’s more a career revolution from being a data analyst). I took this decision months ago, but made little progress. I’ve been struggling to truly go for it due to a mix of fear, lack of self-confidence and time. This is actually the reason why I joined the flow collective last month (and very glad I did!).

As I worked through the Autumn workbook and based on my 1 year vision, the first goal I wrote is to build a strong portfolio and publish my website.

My rocks for the next three months are:
– Self development: work on building self trust, resilience, being comfortable in being seen and taking risks (all of this thanks to the resources on TFC)
– Make time to practice my drawing skills, work on the website, expand my knowledge on the more business side of things.
– Exercise more, eating healthily and rest to support my mental efforts.

Now, my doubt comes from my answer to the question “what’s taking up mental real estate in your mind?”, which was my day job.
I’ve been quite bored and disengaged at work for the last few months.
My days have become an 8 hour battle with my brain to convince it to do something and not being distracted all the time.
By the end of the day, I’m exhausted with little mental energy for anything else.
But I don’t feel ready to quit yet. I’m scared of losing my salary and in the end it’s not a bad job. I work from home, the people are nice and supportive, the work-life balance is great and it’s good pay.
If my brain collaborated, it’d actually be a great situation to start a side-hustle.
I think I’m also struggling to find clarity because I’m based in a city I don’t like. That’s another thing where I feel stuck.
 My boyfriend and I have been planning to move, but things have been going slower than we wished for. So I’m a bit scared of being unemployed and live still here, as it might be pretty depressing.

Given all these thoughts and confusion, maybe sorting my job and place to live out are supposed to be my initial goal? 
I’ve been in this state of uncertainty for months now, so not surprised I got stuck at this point in the workbook too.

 

Answer:

What if your current job is the perfect thing to help you reach your goals?  You’ve mentioned all the good things about it. The only problem is your thought that it’s taking up mental real estate. You mentioned it’s been much more of a problem the past few months, something has changed.  The job is the same but your thoughts have become different. This is a great opportunity to practice loving where you are. Your brain wants to tell you that you will be so much less bored when you’re an illustrator but that’s not necessarily true. The way to make the grass greener on both sides is to decide on purpose how you want to feel no matter what your circumstance.

What if your first step to creating the life you want is truly finding peace right where you are in your job in this city? Stop telling yourself you’re stuck in both and take ownership of your choices. Write a list of all the good reasons you have for being here. If you like your reasons, own them. If you see somewhere where you really don’t love your reason, that’s the place to start making adjustments. See what comes up as you explore this and bring your questions and models back. You’re not stuck. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Welcome to TFC!!