The yogi who left her corporate job - part 1

Why are work hours so rigid? Does it work for everyone to work a “9-5+” job? I put “9-5” in quotations because depending on where you live, or where you work, your work hours are going to vary greatly. What’s also going to vary greatly are your paid holidays. In the US, you get 2 working weeks off. In the UK, it’s 20 days plus 8 days of bank holidays. In the Middle East, it can go up to 45 days. There are pros and cons to having so little vacation or so much time off, but somewhere around 25- 30 days seems right to me. 

We have this misconception in our world today that overworking equals being productive and successful. The more you put in the more you get out, right? Yes and no. If you’re going above and beyond your limits for an extended period of time, you are going to crack. It doesn’t matter who you are, but you are either going to become a doormat and you’re going to let life fly by without ever making uncomfortable decisions. Or, you’re going to spit fire on whoever and whatever crosses your path because you’ve put yourself on a tight rope and you have 0 tolerance or patience.

I’ve seen both play out in people and I myself fell victim to this type of pattern “I stay where there is no passion because I am afraid I won’t find better than that”. This type of pattern plays out in many different scenarios. It plays out in careers, in relationships, in friendships, in “hobbies”. We stay in it because of fear and because of a lack of trust within. If we believed, if we had faith, we would know beyond any reasonable doubt that God will be there to show us the way. We have to finally believe that if we are on our intended path, if we are on the path we signed up for, then God, the universe, source will lead us in that way even if we can’t see the road. We are so paralyzed to take that next step because we can’t see the destination. But do you really want to know what the destination is? It’s the same one for everyone and it seems gruesome and dark but it isn’t. It’s a fact of life: death. Death is not to be feared rather, it is living life as though we already died that is more frightening. Not going after your dreams is far scarier than them not happening. At least you tried to go after what you heart desired. 

A story I will never forget reading that changed my mindset forever was the story of Thomas Edison, the man who invented the electric light and light bulb. He’s a big reason we have electricity in the way that we do today and let me tell you we should all be thankful that he didn’t give up after he tried to get it right 1,000 times. 1,000 times and he still kept going until that time he got it right. If he looked at the 999 times he ”failed” as failures who knows where we would be today, probably sitting in the dark with candles somewhere. The best part of the story was when a reporter asked him "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps”

Your perspective of your so-called shortcomings, your failures and your weaknesses are one perspective. There is always another way to see things. Always a clearer way to view your life. A more loving approach. The way I see it, your perspective can either limit you because you scrutinize your failures and disappointments or you can observe your whole journey as a path towards your purpose. The choice lies in your hands and your hands only. 

Now if you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’re someone who does not give up easily when the going gets tough. You don’t simply stop when you “fail”. Actually, you don’t even look at failure as failure you see it as one step closer to your purpose. 

Now when you don’t give up on your path, AND when you surrender to how you believe it should all unfold, it’s a double threat. You’re allowing things to happen. You’ve moved out of the way, you’ve released blockages from within and now it’s only a matter of time for things to unfold quickly.

Manifestation should become a game for us all to play and to explore. Manifesting our lives, our dreams should be taught because we all have unimaginable power and we should allow ourselves to discover it as best we can. But to manifest what is not meant to be ours will be difficult. This is why while we are alive, while we are here, we might as well do work that is meaningful to us, that sets our hearts on fire. When we pursue something we love and we overwork some days and we balance that out the next day by taking some time to ourselves before getting back into work all day and all night then that’s different. While working on your purpose it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like fun. It feels like excitement. It feels like you just cannot wait to wake up and do this again in the morning.

All great beings, all great successful beings, like Kobe Bryant God bless his soul, all of them pursued their passion. All of them made their purpose fun. Their passion became their life and these types of people don’t only have passion for their careers but their families and for living joyful lives. They overwork yes, they go above and beyond yes, they wake up early, go to sleep late, yes. But they’re doing all these things with love for love and that’s why they become inspirational and motivational. That’s why some of them are big stars. I’m not just talking about big celebrity stars but human stars that have impacted our lives so greatly we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. Some are such big lights in the world that everything they touch in life, they touch it with love. 

When you have love missing from the equation then overworking becomes dangerous and creates disturbances in the body and mind. The soul though is always at peace because that’s its essence. The rest of your being however is disturbed by this out of balance equation and is desperately trying to find its way back. And the way back is a journey of its own. 

So you see, it doesn’t really matter which path you pick, but how you choose to walk the path that matters. And if you could pick a path, or create your own, because you can, wouldn’t you want to pick the best path for yourself? Wouldn’t you want to explore what it is you came here to explore? It is you wanting what’s best for yourself by yourself that will propel you forward. Dream the best dream dear. Dream the best dream.