You can quit your job, but you can't quit you

I used to have this burning desire to travel far away. I was dreaming of exotic places like Cappadocia in Turkey, the Amsterdam canals, or the coastal towns in Italy. It’s hard to not get excited thinking about how incredible my life would be if I were there.

Soon after, I had my passport in my pocket and started rushing through the airport to get to my gate on time, jump on the plane, and leave behind all my problems. After a couple of weeks in Europe, I felt a new burning desire to travel again. My mind was already going to multiple places while my body was sitting at a cafe in a country I hadn’t been to. Longing again to be someplace else, looking to feel something different at a new destination. Back then, deep down, I was just trying to escape from myself.

I saw this pattern with myself, trying to escape from work I didn’t want to do, people I didn’t like to be around, or places where I felt I didn’t belong. My mind was getting excited about a place I had never been to, a job at another company, and someone I hadn’t met who finally understood me. Feels like a never-ending race where you chase all the things you don’t have.

No matter how often you travel, change jobs, or meet new people. When you are not at peace with yourself, you’ll be dragging along all those problems with you no matter where you go. Being in a place you have never been, quitting your job, or breaking up with your partner, is not the answer. I realized you must look inward first. Find out what’s troubling you internally so you stop running away from it.

The truth is, when you are not at peace with yourself, you easily blame it on others, and you’ll start looking for people who tell you what you want to hear. The problem is not you, you’re only a victim of your boss, the economy, and many other things you don’t control. When you stop blaming others, you’ll find that working on yourself is the only path forward.

You will hear that people don’t quit bad companies, but bad leaders. You can quit your job, but you can’t quit you. No matter where you go, your problems will come with you.

Whatever you are looking for might be inside of you, not on the outside.