So to speak: Chasing a Dream

When a situation calls for a tough decision, the simple thing to do is opt for the easiest way out. Imagine you have a very cushy job that pays well but it isn’t what you want to do and you would rather do something else. That ‘something else’, you realise, might be a plunge into the unknown but you feel, it is what you have always wanted to do.
What do you do? There are only two options here. Continue with your dreaded job and slowly but surely work yourself into chronic depression or take the risk and pursue your dream.
It’s not as easy as it sounds because the decision of leaving a job that provides you with a livelihood may not be a realistic option. We all need a fallback when things turn sour so we can be back on familiar territory. On the other hand, you don’t want to wait until you are old and grey and then start wishing that you had taken the risk. It is not always wise to avoid risks so long as you stand a fair chance of making it. When you have tiny, hungry mouths to feed and a wife who expects you to hold on to a steady job, it may kind of stand in your way — your security or seeking to achieve a life-long ambition.
Being married, however, is not always the only hindrance when you want to change careers at the drop of a hat. I have a friend, who is a confirmed bachelor and is still trying to muster enough courage to quit his job and become a businessman. A secure job is not the only thing that holds you back — it is also the disruption of the routine. As they say, ‘The devil you know is better then the devil you don’t’. The opinions of others may well be another factor. Comments like ‘What? You want to quit a good job for a pipe dream?’ Then you go on to discourage yourself by saying, ‘It may not be the greatest job in the world but at least it pays the bills.’ The moment you say those words you know that you are damned in the same job for life.
There are those who would argue that it may be worth quitting when your most prized possession — your health — is in question. The chances of picking up ailments like ulcers, blood pressure or even a heart attack increase every day you make that journey to work unless you really come to terms with your predicament. That means giving yourself a thorough dressing down.
Again, that may not be as easy as I have put it. Especially when you realise that weeks spin into months and before you know it, years of despair have piled up on you. So, when it’s time to look back, you can only see a sorry figure waking up every morning to a job that doesn’t live up to expectations. You could, however, then do the only sensible thing left in your control and that is to advise your children to ‘grab the day so you can take hold of your life before it’s too late.’
I know that some readers will be able to identify with these situations. To make a career switch is never easy, but it may be the best thing you could do for yourself or family. This is the situation when you begin to wonder staying a bachelor was the best decision you never took.