It seems, my friends, that I am in fact living in interesting times.  And it seems last Wednesday was exceptionally ‘interesting’.

Last Wednesday is the day that I quit my job.

Events converged so that I went home and told Chris that I was ready.  Ready to quit my job.  Ready to take the full chance on my dream.  Ready to succeed and ready to fail.  It was the straw event that broke the camel’s back created the visceral catalyst for change.

I spent that night trying to sleep as occasional bouts of fear and terror and adrenaline washed through my body.  General ‘upset-edness’ pervaded my being.  Believe me, it’s hard to think when your brain is amped up, when your ‘fight or flight’ reflexes are engaged.  It’s too busy acting like a hamster on a hamster wheel.

And I’d had a rather emotionally trying day.  On the one hand, I was upset that I hadn’t handled things as professionally as I had wished to, that I had been reacting out of fear the whole day.  On the other hand, I was upset that I hadn’t given anyone a piece of my mind.  Was I, I wondered, getting ’soft’?

As the sun crept over the horizon, I was still up, in overdrive.  Scared.  Exhausted.  Yet sure.

And, by the way, totally oblivious.  You see, I’d completely forgotten about an intention that I set.  A 90 Day Challenge to quit my job and change my life.  (An intention that I ’tweaked’ to 180 days out of concern for the economy.)

When I mentioned that I was actually leaving, a good friend reminded me of my 90 Day Challenge.

“Wasn’t that about 90 days ago?” she asked.

I quickly checked to see when I had ’set’ that intention.  It was June 25, 2008.  My last day?  September 19, 2008.  I pulled up my calendar and calculator.  Redid the calculations to be sure.

It was 88 days exactly.

What have I learned about intention setting?

  • ‘Tweaking’ didn’t have the same power as setting the intention.  I don’t know if it is because I subconsciously felt like I was giving myself a useless extension or because I didn’t do it with the same deliberate intention, with the same intense emotional connection.
  • Whatever the reason, I am leaving in 88 days, not in 180.
  • The universe is not afraid for you.  At all.
  • Take great care with your ideas and the monologue of your mind.  (Be careful what you wish for.)
  • Don’t make commitments unless you are absolutely certain that you are willing to keep them.
  • Your word can be law.

What about the future?

I have about 6 months figured out.  That’s it.  Will I be a success?  Will I be a failure?  Will I have to jump back into the rat race?

I don’t know.  But I definitely know what intention I will be setting for myself!