On July 9th, I turned 31.

I was alone for my birthday because my wife was out of town at a conference. Being alone afforded me the opportunity to see Spiderman: Homecoming (the marvel treatment of the character was fantastic and I can’t wait to see it again), but also to reflect on things.

Of all the questions I could have pondered on my birthday, two rose above the rest: Where am I in my life? and Where do I want to be?

As far as my personal life goes, I couldn’t be happier. I have a wonderful (and beautiful) wife that supports me in everything that I do, two kitties, and the cutest, mischievous puppy one could ever ask for. We live in a great area and have plenty of friends (both near and far) that we spend time with.

Honestly, we’re blessed (and that’s not a term I use lightly).

Professionally, however, I’ve been falling behind. Back in 2011, the job that I have now was the best thing that ever happened to me. I had recently lost one job and was working another that barely paid the bills. Things were difficult. So, I jumped at the opportunity to move across the country and pursue something new and interesting. And it has been new and interesting for the better part of six years.

But…

I entered the field that I currently work in as an outsider. What I mean is that my degree wasn’t aligned with what I was doing, nor was it as advanced as it could have been for the tasks I was (and still am) performing. This meant that the pay was lower than others with the same job title and that my potential career path was far more limited.

More recently, changes in management have further degraded my ability to move, and be promoted, within the company where I now work. So much so that the above questions have been growing slowly in my mind. Until, on the 9th, they rose to the forefront of my thoughts.

For better or worse, I was forced to face these questions head on. And we all know that there’s nothing more difficult than self-reflection.

The obvious answer to these questions is that I’m not happy where I am professionally. And, as an added bonus to that, I’m not really happy with where I am in my writing.

While my professional life has quickly begun to stagnate in 2017, I’ve felt the negativity from that decline begin to seep into my writing. This hasn’t been a purposeful change, but something that is a result of my mixed emotions regarding where I am. And, as much as I’ve been fighting the inevitable, it’s finally clear to me that things need to change.

I’m working very hard towards that change and I have to say that my mood is already drastically improved. My writing has also picked up somewhat. I’ve only managed to put about 1300 words to paper this week, but it feels far more consistent – and far more driven – than it has in the past month or so. Before, writing had started to become somewhat of a chore, but now I’m finally starting to enjoy it again.

With any luck, my circumstances will be changing very soon. With that change, I hope to have a far more positive outlook on my professional path. And my writing as well.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to make sure that you are always moving towards where you want to be in your life. There’s definitely something to be said for having a fantastic home life, or being able to maintain all of the hobbies that you enjoy, but unless every aspect of your life is in balance, there’s always an opportunity for doubt to creep in through the seams.

But it’s important to remember that doubt won’t kill you. Or ruin you. It will only make you uncomfortable. And what you do when you’re uncomfortable is the most important thing of all. Staying still and languishing in doubt will only make you unhappy – regardless of whatever awesome things you have going on in your life. And though that first step towards change is always the hardest, taking it, then another, then three more, is the only way to move past doubt.

Because, eventually, you’ll find yourself well on the way to where you want to be. And that feeling is the best feeling in the world.

I’ve started taking my steps. Have you?