When people find out I haven´t had a steady income for the past year, their reaction always goes from disapproval to cluelesness.
I mean, i get it. We are hardwired to put safety, comfort and security among our top life priorities and with good reason. Who wants to be 45 years old, 2 kids, a mortgage and responsibilities and no steady income? Im guessing no one.
But there comes a moment when you have to chose between two paths: The comfortable trail or the dream seeking path.
For me that moment it came when I was 26 years old. Since 2012 I was unhappy with my life but the constant advice from my father and people I admire, the opinions of my peers at work, my friend´s success kept me going through a road I didn´t like, at all. I was unhappy and my Twitter feed knew it, every once in a while I would just tweet "I am feed up with being unhappy" but I couldn´t pinpoint the reasons, I just knew I was unhappy. My comfort zone was so uncomfortable for me to the point I I neglected my 2,000k a month job, my human relations, my family bonds but most importantly, my self-love.
All of this unhappiness just to be able to say "I have no money problems" was too much to bare under my shoulders, it was making me miserable and making me intolerable to the people around me.
I wanted to travel. I needed to see the world. I craved adventures in any form and shape. But I was scared, no, I was terrified of the future. I was tempted to try and find another job and to find happiness in other things. I kept telling me "This is the way to go, you just have to get used to it, this is normal life".
Being on my late 20´s with no foreseeable future and no plans at all, I decided to fulfill my dream. That dream that got stuck in my mind since 2011 when I went traveling for a few months through México and met some of the most amazing people I will ever have the pleasure to meet. That time when I understood there is so much more in life than what I was getting. That set of moments where I was the happiest version of myself I ever was.
I left home with no more than 1,000k dollars and no real plan but to go wherever my feet took me, without knowing wht would lie ahead.
Today, it´s been exactly one year and one month since I took the riskiest decision I have ever made. I´ve been to more than 15 countries and I have never been happier, or poorer.
But one thing I am certain. A few hours ago I was checking my twitter feed to take trip down memory lane and I noticed one thing: I didn´t have the urge, or even the thought, of tweeting...
I am fed up of being unhappy.
I know, I can say this because I don´t have a family or responsibilities and you might nt find yourself in the same position as I was when I took the chance of leaving everything behind. I am also aware that most people are happy with their lives and do not need to change anything, so this is not an advice for everyone. I might regret this decision in the future, I surely hope I won´t. But one thing I can tell you, having no comfort or security, made me the happiest man alive. I will continue to travel for as long as I can, or until I meet that woman, or I find that job that makes me say "Yes, I am happy and satisfied with this". But for now, the only advice I can give you is, "If you are unhappy with your current situation, do not trade that comfort when you are 70 for your dreams when you are 20" and, always...
Take risks, go for it even if the odds are against you, create your own path, get involved in that long overdue project, believe in yourself and most importantly... Remember, be Here Now
