And I Don’t Regret My Decision
I felt like I was just part of a robotic life. Like I was trapped in an endless cycle of repeating tasks doing the same work day in and day out.
My life Felt like I was just existing. A meaningless existence. Yes, making money was needed but it was not enjoyable.
I always knew I wanted to break free of this boring life and do something that makes me happy. Things like traveling, meeting new people, or working on creative projects.
On the spur of the moment one day I decided to try my luck in freelancing.
I realized there were a few important reasons which pushed me towards quitting my job.
Same routine work
Routine becomes boring.
I am not a routine person.
Unlike many, I hate routine work. I need a mix of emotions or challenges as I enjoy it.
But when things become a routine it hurts my brain and I feel dead inside. I feel like a robot with consciousness. I feel stuck.
Routine life is not flexible.
It affects my daily flexibility and I cannot plan or expect sudden tasks or ad-hoc tasks.
I cannot plan an outing or a random lunch with friends or go for a night out as I have to be in the office the next morning.
I also realized routine tasks lack emotions.
Most of the things I do in my life have a purpose and emotional connection. These emotional connections drive me to go the extra mile to achieve it even when I feel like quitting.
But routine tasks make me feel emotionless and I don’t feel like bothering to do anything extra. I just concentrate on finishing it and getting done with it.
People with zero knowledge
It’s very challenging to work with people who don’t have the right knowledge or skills.
I worked as a web developer in my last job.
It’s a nightmare to have bosses who are not technical in a technical project.
My actual reason for not doing something was taken as an excuse. But it was not possible technically in the project.
If only the manager had a technical background, they would have understood the situation.
Sometimes they also surprise you with unreasonable requirements & timelines. Clients and Bosses think everyone in their team is a genie.
They ask us to do things that are not practical or waste a lot of everyone’s time.
Unwanted changes and revisions just to figure out one small detail. And that too in a short time.
This leads to more pressure and tension. And it’s well-known people don’t perform well under such conditions.
And then you must have faced irrelevant and illogical competition from co-workers.
There were many instances where they made excuses when you reached out to them for help.
One time I happened to connect with an ex-colleague who always made excuses whenever I asked for any help.
When I met him after so many years I asked him “Why did you always make excuses when I needed help from you?”. “It’s because you might have got a better promotion than me” he replied.
I facepalmed but that’s the reality.
Terrible traffic
Nobody likes being stuck in traffic.
It’s such a huge waste of time and being stuck in traffic was a huge waste of my daily routine.
I could have used that time on something productive or something that I would have enjoyed. I would have made a better breakfast or spent more time in meditation.
But here I am dreading my life being stuck in traffic for hours some days. Not an ideal positive way to start or end a day for sure.
Another reason traffic annoys me because of constant honking. Over usage of horns should be regulated and this will reduce noise pollution. Sometimes I strongly feel people should be charged money every time they use the horn.
Then only they will become responsible. Why keep honking when everyone is stuck?
And being stuck between so many vehicles in one place leads to Pollution. It’s bad for health to inhale all the fumes and you cannot do anything about it.
These reasons were strong enough for me to plan and quit my job.
Now after freelancing for 4 years, I can say quitting my job was the best decision of my life so far.
My suggestion to those who are in the same boat as I was earlier is to find something that makes you happy.
Life shouldn’t be about just existing. You should spend your limited time on earth doing something meaningful. Do something enjoyable.
Make the best use of whatever you have and live a happy life.