Take the risk, Dream.
In early November, I was excited. I had a planned vacation coming up, I was working with a team of people just as passionate as I was about creating and improving products, and I was starting to figure out work-life balance with my remote job. Then like so many others corporations, lay-offs started happening. By November 18th, I had lost my job. My first thought was to dust off the resume and start again, and I don't like dwelling on anything I can't change. But then my husband told me to take a breath, to figure out what I really wanted.
As I thought about it I realized, there was still so much I wanted. I wanted more time to see my children off to school and to be available to chat during business hours. I wanted enough energy to participate in school activities and community events. I wanted to volunteer and help families like mine and I still wanted to create products that help people.
I started to think that maybe I wanted too much, but in a moment of pure genius or insanity, I thought, why not do it all? From November to January, I didn’t make any snap decisions, but I chatted with my husband and created five hundred different plans. In February, after pitching a version of my idea to husband- for the hundredth time, he finally said, “ You can do it, but you have actually to decide to do it.”
Having the support from my husband and the freedom to choose what to do next, had never felt like a heavy burden. Over the years as mom I trained to choose a safe, well-traveled path. Then my mind started the conjure the most dramatic scenarios.
Ignoring a Second income could be disaster for my family financial stability, leading to homelessness.
I build a Product nobody wants, and then I can't get another job because I am too old.
Realizing that I was spiraling into negative thoughts. I took a break and reevaluated my current position. I reminded myself that I was laid off because of the economic conditions, so having a job didn't guarantee stability. I knew my son was getting older, so having a flexible schedule that allowed me to work with him and his teachers would improve his chances for success in a traditional classroom setting. Finally, I wanted time to explore alternative learning methods with technology like AR, as we have used Ipads and learning software in the past with great success.
Remembering why I wanted to do this in the first place and gave me courage. So I shook off the paralysis analysis, and took the first step towards my dreams.