It’s Tuesday and you know what that means…it’s time to Tell All Tuesday! This week’s inspirational Guest Post comes to us from Allison Martin. Among other things, this Budget Maven is an expert on “maintaining a comfortable lifestyle, while still being in control of your financial destiny.” All her quittin’ has pushed her forward and shows us just how quickly one thing can lead to another. Here’s her story…
Hi. My name is Allison Martin and I am a quitter. Admitting that is the first step, right? While being a quitter is typically associated with being weak, unmotivated, or just plain lazy, I want us to change our connotation of this word.
If you’ve never quit anything, it means you’ve never tried something new. And if you ask me, that’s a far greater atrocity than throwing in the towel on something when it stops being fun or beneficial to your life.
My love of quitting was instilled in me at an early age. My mother always encouraged me to try anything I wanted and after a few weeks or months, if I didn’t like it anymore, she would let me quit. A mentality like this provides a sort of freedom that, once possessed, makes it hard to settle for anything less.
After high school, I decided to follow, or maybe I should say test, a dream I’d always had to be an actress. Because I knew I could quit if I didn’t like it, I was able to ignore the fact I was painfully shy and despised having attention directed on me and gave acting a shot. I was horrible and I hated it, but I tried it. And I quit after a semester.
Since graduating with a degree in Communications instead, I’ve held a variety of jobs including barista at a smoothie shop, Victoria’s Secret perfume girl (yes, this is an actual vocation), Mary Kay representative, AM radio DJ, and middle school teacher. By the way, none of these jobs were last resorts and I stayed in some of the occupations listed above for four or more years. Each endeavor was an attempt to discover something new about myself, and again, when they stopped being fun, I tried something else.
I know what you’re thinking, this woman just can’t ever be happy. And that statement couldn’t be further from the truth. I love my crazy, ever-changing life and enjoyed certain aspects of each of my jobs. In fact, it seems as though each of my previous vocations has prepared me for the next one in some way.
When I quit my last full-time job, teaching, two years ago, I again had no idea what I was going to do, but that didn’t worry me. I started a blog called The Budget Maven because I had a lot to say about how people treat their finances and the same summer, I began writing my first novel. The blog led to a brief stint on the local news as a weekly contributor. (I quit this when it began to take up too much of my precious writing time.) And the novel placed in the top ten semi-finalists of a nationwide publishing contest.
I continue to write for the blog and recently edited my novel again for re-entry into the contest. And if these two don’t work out, I guess I’ll quit doing them and turn another page in the short chapters of my life.
I encourage you to let my story be your inspiration to stick your neck out there, try something new, quit something that drains you, and don’t be surprised when you’re life is more satisfying than you could have ever imagined.
About Allison
Allison Martin is a freelance writer who enjoys writing, reading great stories, spending time with the people she loves, and of course, quitting. Visit her blog, The Budget Maven: Living on Less with Style www.budgetmaven.wordpress.com.
Share Your Story
As Katherine Center so eloquently puts it, “you have to be brave with your life, so that others can be brave with theirs.” Have you reinvented yourself in some way or are you owning your life and rediscovering what makes your heart sing? If yes, share your story and inspire others! Shoot me an email with your story at owningkristina@gmail.com.
Thanks for all the comments! And thanks to Owning Kristina for hosting me!
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I was intrigued by the the title here. What a great perspective on trying new things. I’ve lived with the mantra that I should never quit anything. Maybe I’ll give should give that a second thought.
Thank you Allison for such an inspiring blog post. I think you’ve provided the jolt that we all needed to step outside the box and try new things.
Yours is an inspiring story. What a wise mother you had; it’s better to find what you love rather than to be strapped into a profession that is only a job.
Great post. So much good stuff packed in here. Fresh and interesting.
I agree 100%! How will you ever find what you love in life if you persist in doing things you don’t enjoy just so you won’t be a “quitter” in other people’s eyes? You’re awesome!
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Allison, this is such a great post. I love the fresh angle on this often berated word. It is inspiring and such a great and easy read. Good job! Love your writing and your passion for the things about which you write! Love ya!
What a great outlook on “quitting”. I love that your Mother allowed you to ‘test drive’ different things with an “opt out” clause. Growing up, we were given the option to “commit” or “not start” new things, which lead to a dreadful fear of failure. This quitting thing, might be worth a try! Thanks for sharing your inspirational thoughts.