No, part two

The things I've said no to, continued:



4. Other people's dream job. I worked at a prestigious children's hospital for six years, and in the beginning of my career I loved it. I am thankful for the training I received there and acknowledge that it is a big part of what has made me the nurse I am today. Leaving felt a little reckless - am I really giving up this job that other people would kill to have? But I knew it was no longer the right fit for me. Giving it up meant I gained freedom to move forward and pursue my dreams.

5. Commuting four hours a day. The upside of commuting via train to work two hours each way: I learned to appreciate public transportation and I skipped out on ridiculous traffic (which is one thing I will never have patience for). The downside: I was giving up 20 hours of my time each week... to get to someone else's dream job. I quit the job and thereby the commute and gained - you guessed it - time.

6.Working a traditional schedule (9-5, Monday-Friday). After working a rotating schedule for two years and full-time nightshift for three years, it did feel wonderful to sleep normally. I thought I would like the routine of doing the same thing each day. But after the novelty wore off I felt trapped. I also started to dread Mondays and count down the days until Friday. I didn't want to be the type of person that wished away four days of my week. During travel assignments, I'm now back to working three twelve hour shifts per week. I have more days off every week and the feeling of being trapped is long gone.

7. Grad school just for the sake of getting a master's degree. I initially interpreted my lack of professional direction as a need to go back to school. I enrolled in an online program in August 2014... and pushed back my start date twice. I realized I was going back to school because it felt like the right thing to do. I'm now a grad school dropout, and I decide what I want to learn about instead of having to accept the content on a syllabus created by someone else. Extra bonus: I don't have to write term papers.

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Final thought: there are a finite number of hours in a day and days in your life. Saying no things you don't want creates space for you to say yes to things that actually matter to you. 

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