Dont wait until you bottom out to make a big change

Dont wait until you bottom out to make a big change Dont wait until you bottom out. The worst thing about big change is not that its so hard to adjust. The worst thing is that we usually have to bottom out before we make a big change; we wait until there is no other choice before we give in. I bottomed out in the car, during my commute between San Diego and Los Angeles. When I took a position near San Diego, I was so excited to have a paycheck that a two-hour commute back to LA seemed fine. And for about three weeks, the commute was interesting. Then I got bored. I tried listening to books on tape, which only served to ruin the experience of reading. I tried talking on the phone, which caused me to miss exits constantly and nearly double my driving time. But the job was so good that I persisted with the commute. I started leaving my apartment in LA at 4am. No traffic meant an abridged commute, but also an abridged social life because I had to be in bed at 8pm. After a few weeks, I fell asleep at the wheel and woke up to the blaring horn of a large trucker saving my life before I crashed. So I went back to my two hours each way. But on rainy days it was 3 hours each way. And finally, on a day of torrential downpour, just a few miles away from Disneyland, I lost it. I pulled to the side of the road and threw pieces of the inside of my car into a ditch. Then I went to Dennys and ate three pieces of pie. Then I called each of my friends to tell them I was quitting. Finally! was what they all said. Thats the thing about big change. By the time we are ready to do it, the need for change has been apparent to everyone else for months. Maybe years. Its easy for everyone else to see someone elses need for change they dont have to make it. Later, reading the want ads at my kitchen table, I was excited to find another job, and I lamented all the hours I wasted in the car. In my apartment it was clear that the job was not worth the commute. But thats how it always is: I always wish I had made the change sooner. So heres what to do with that information: Cut yourself some slack if youre in a bad situation and not getting out. But get out. Sure, research shows that people have a proclivity to stay in a bad situation, but you can be an overachiever. Get out before you have your own version of tears in front of the Magic Kingdom. Force yourself to change before things get ugly. Its impossible to see your own life as clearly as others do, but its a good goal to aim for. As soon as you hear other people say, Why dont you do [insert change here]? give the question serious thought. Put that thought on your to do list, so its right there in front of you. Still not moving? Close your eyes and imagine what life would be like if you made the big change: Maybe its giving up some responsibility at work, or quitting, or switching careers. These are the sorts of changes we put off and put off, but once we do them we feel huge relief. These days I try to focus on that relief; I still wait too long to instigate change, but Im hoping my days of being on the bottom are behind me.