Am I making the Right Choice?

2020 hasn’t been a smooth sailing year for most people. And in this pandemic, I’ve made a choice that not everyone could understand. I. QUIT. MY. JOB!

According to Google:

RIGHT
adjective
morally good, justified, or acceptable.

CHOICE
noun
an act of choosing between two or more possibilities.

If you are at a situation that you need to make a choice(s), despite is about your career, study, future, family, financial, etc..., but not sure is this the correct choice to make, I’m here to share my experience, and perhaps you could have a better idea of “Am I making the right choice?” (through every sleepless night, I’ve asked myself the same question)

Before anything, you have to know that this is a subjective question, it does not have a fixed answer. Like Google ‘explained’ above, as long as it is justifiable and acceptable, to YOU!

A subjective essay includes your personal perspective and opinion, without the need to seem objective or base your essay on research. 

Some might say, “Nah~ say so easy, very hard to do ah…” Hello! Already said that this is a subjective question, you need to THINK! Use your brain, analyze the question and find YOUR most suitable answer. If this is an easy choice to make, trust me, I wouldn’t have struggled for months.

To give you a bit of background, early this year, I planned to quit my job in April, thought through everything: when to submit letter, when will be my last day, things to do after I quit, what kind of new job to find, etc… And boom! Here comes coronavirus *sigh* ‘Awesome!’ All plans are ruined. *crying*

During April, I was struggling the whole month whether should I continue with my plan to quit, or stay. Voices came to me, “People are losing their jobs, the economy is not doing well, very hard to find a new job, should be grateful that you have a job.” And here comes the question: “AM I MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE?”

So, here’s a few things that I did before I made that choice.

1. Ask yourself: Does it worth it?

There’s no 100% perfect solution, is not math, is life! No matter what decision you made in the end, you sure have to let go something. List down the pros & cons, compare, and ask yourself, which is more worth it.

For my case:

“Stay” 
– at that time, my emotion + mental were not good, which leads to affecting my working performance.
– I have a secure job, stable income (at least)

“Leave”
– I gained happiness again, will definitely be more relief
– will have time to pursue what I really want (aka passion + new career path)
– jobless, no income, uncertainties

Obviously, I had my answer after that, and I can say that it was worth it with zero regrets!

A reminder, that even after you listed down the pros and cons, no one on earth could help you with the decision making. You can take in advises, but you still have to justify to yourself in the end.

2. Commitments & Responsibilities

I have to admit that we all have our own commitments & responsibilities to carry in life, and these should also put into consideration upon our decision making.

For my case, I am very thankful that my car loan was settled last year (Thank God!), I didn't have any loans to cover, I’m not attached; my only concern was the finance part. Unemployed means no income, plus I don’t want to ask from my parents. So that’s my responsibility! What I did was I started saving and making financial plans once I decided to quit. In fact, I was saving up since earlier, thanks to MCO.

My Saving Tips: A question I ask myself each time before I buy something: “Will I die if I don’t buy this?” If the answer is “No.”, then I walk away.
And! Stop falling for sales! I know is cheap, but nowadays there’s sales every single month! (6.6 / 7.7 / 8.8 …) Buy it only when you NEED it! Since MCO started, I stopped online shopping / purchasing unnecessary stuff (i.e.: clothes, shoes, cosmetics, skincare, etc.)  only purchase if needed.

Okay, back to the topic.

I am blessed that I still have the freedom (and support from parents) to quit my job in the middle of a pandemic. To some of you, yes, days might be tougher, you might need to work harder, put in more time, make more sacrifices, if you make that decision, but it links back to that question - Does it worth it? I believe, if there’s a will, there’s a way!

3. Make a PLAN.

Yes! Not because I’m a person who make plans before I do anything, but because life goes on! No matter what decision you make, you have to think of a way to move on.

It doesn’t have to be a solid plan, but at least have a direction, for example, during my notice period, a lot people knew I quit and they asked me, “So what you gonna do next?” “Have you found a new job?” I’ve heard this 2 questions most, and my answer will always be “Don’t know, haven’t found a new job, will go back hometown first.”

You see the ‘plan’ here? Although, I don’t know where / what’s my next job be, but I knew I’m going back hometown after my last day. My plan was to take a break back at home (started this blog!), spend time with family, made financial plans (how long can I be unemployed), research about the new career path that I want and start pursuing it!

To me, I want to be fully recharged and ready before I kick start the new journey. Everyone has a ‘something’ to do in mind after every decision making, so what’s yours?

4. PRAY

In fact, as a believer, this is the 1st thing I do.

Thanks to MCO, I’m able to spend more time with God, to really quiet down myself and listen to Him speaking. I’ve prayed and seek God harder than I ever did. It was an answered prayer that I have the peace to make that decision. If you are also praying for something, I encourage you to really let go and let God.

I was ‘arguing’ with God throughout the times before I finally surrender.

Deep down, my heart knew that God is asking me to trust Him, to trust His timing, trust His Words (Jeremiah 29:11); but my brain is telling me that this is not a safe move in this pandemic.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Sometimes, you just have to follow your heart. You knew exactly what you should do, it’s just that there’s too many other voices around. Like I said above, you can take in advises from others, but you have to justify it to yourself. However, when it comes to God’s direction, how can you not follow?

Some of you that don’t know me personally might ask, how can I be so sure that ‘God’s direction’ is the right choice? … I’ll write a separate post to share why, and also more detail on how God convinced me, changed my heart to be closer to His.

So… that’s it! I hope this could encourage or help you a little if you are struggling to make a decision that might affect your future / life. I really want you to know that there’s not just 1 way to live life, but so much more possibilities! Don’t get yourself stuck in a tough state, and lost your happiness.