Life altering decisions aren’t always made after lots of careful thought and planning.
In an oft repeated cliché, I made mine on New Year’s Eve, after being faced with the prospect of another year treading the same path.
I hadn’t really thought about it. I just did it.
I was feeling lost, and a little low. I knew what I didn’t want:
- I didn’t want to repeat the same year doing the same things week on week
- I didn’t want to keep living in London (I love my city, but I’ve lived here my whole life and went to Uni here too. It felt like it was time for a change.)
I wasn’t exactly sure what I did want, but I knew some basics:
- I wanted to finish a book (my mac is a graveyard for unfinished stories)
- I wanted to refine my writing, perhaps with a course, or even a degree.
And this is how I came to sit in front of a Masters application to the Univeristy of Stockholm in Sweden. I hit send.
Now, two things were obvious to me at the time:
- I had a great, well paying and stable job that paid me money, which I would have to give up, which isn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done
- They probably wouldn’t let me in anyway.
In the space between January and March, I decided that I probably shouldn’t quit my safe job and embark on a slightly mad Swedish writing adventure. That was something that happened to other people, not to me.
On March 9th I got told I was being made redundant.
On March 31st, Stockholm University accepted me.
And so my life flipped upside down without me really thinking about it.
I knew something wasn’t right and I took action. Now, I’m not saying we should always make big decisions on the spin of a coin. But what I am saying is that you don’t need to put months or even weeks of planning into it. Just go with your gut.
After all, your gut knows best.
Sophie Writes 