It’s been said that we sometimes have to say “no” to something good in order to say “yes” to something even better.

Anytime that we say yes to something, we are essentially saying no to something else. We can’t be two places at once, so for everything we do, there are an infinite amount of things we can’t do.

I can’t go see a friend and clean my house at the same time. I can’t go on a vacation and save that vacation money for a vehicle at the same time. I can’t spend every waking hour busy and be in tip-top physical and mental health at the same time.

For every “yes,” you are also having to say “no,” even if you don’t realize it.

The problem arises when choosing between two good things. There are many times I don’t really want to say no to anything. I wish I was career Barbie, who was simultaneously an astronaut and a teacher and a veterinarian and a flight attendant and a million other things. But this isn’t Barbie’s reality, and in my reality, I have to say no to a lot of things I really enjoy.

Today the thing I said “no” to was my job. I would like to point out that this is a job I absolutely love. But, I said “no” to something good in order to say “yes” to something better. Although I would have been happy to stay in that position for the rest of my life, furthering my education was a high priority for me and would also afford me the opportunity to have more choice in how exactly I served clients. I knew that staying where I was would be good, but furthering my education would be better.

So that’s what I did. Today was my last day of work and I will be starting classes soon. I think it’s helpful for me to frame this transition in this way, because the quitting part just isn’t much fun at all. Going after something better, though? That’s something I can say “yes” to.

Why do we make the decisions that we do?

I’ve been thinking of this lately. It’s interesting what motivates change, and soon I will be experiencing a lot of it.

For starters, I quit my job. Yes, the job that I love so dearly. As it turns out, it’s easy to quit a job that sucks the life out of you (been there) but quite a bit more difficult to quit a job that you look forward to each day. I’ve been working as a therapist at a community mental health agency for nearly two years. I would be entirely content to stay in this position for the rest of my life. And, you see, that’s the problem.

Although I would love to stay in this job forever, I would not have any opportunity for advancement. I also wouldn’t have a lot of options if something changed and I needed to look elsewhere for work. The only way to advance in this career is with more education.

I’ll be attending graduate school beginning this fall. The program that I chose will allow me to go in a few different directions after graduation: back into the counseling field, into a college teaching role, or into a PhD program. I would be thrilled with any of these options.

It was a big decision for me to make, but I feel it was the right one.

Another decision I made recently is to be open to the idea of blogging again. This may seem strange since I’ll be entering into a very intensive educational program in less than a month. What I’m considering, though, is blogging with a bit of a different end goal. Before, I was hoping to improve the lives of those in my audience. Now, I’d like to use this blog to improve my own life, and maybe it’ll improve yours in the process. I enjoy blogging, but trying to crank out content on a regular schedule to appease the masses is exhausting. Blogging is an outlet for me because I love writing and thinking about ideas. If I’m no longer doing that, it’s not helpful for anyone. Plus, I want this to be true to me and not some sort of manufactured clickbait.

So, yes, I hope to begin blogging more again. It’s probably going to look a little different than it did before. It may not be consistently posted on the same time on the same day. With my schooling starting up, there may be gaps with nothing posted because my nose is in a book. It may not even interest you, and that’s fine. I’m shifting my mindset to think of it as self-expression. You’re welcome to come along for the ride!

After much consideration, I’ve decided to take a break from this blog for some time. 

Right now I’m not sure when or if I will be returning. I love writing, but I don’t know if blogging is the right path for me. I have so many vastly different interests, and I’d like to free up some time to pursue them and to write more creatively or just for myself as a hobby. 

This blog has been so much fun. I sincerely thank each and every one of you, my readers, for being so supportive and awesome. It means so much to me. 

– Megan