Randy Patterson Quits
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November 28, 2017 | Become a Doula, Doula Inspiration, Doula Self Care
I quit.
There. I said it.
In my lifetime I have quit far more things than I stuck with and that makes starting something new difficult. Can you relate?
I remember when I was gonna sell gift baskets for the holidays… Wine glasses “rim dipped” in chocolate, a bottle of wine, a basket, beautiful ribbon… I bought enough “inventory” to make 10 baskets, sold 1 and ended up with lots of wine, about 20 wine glasses and enough baskets and ribbon to last a lifetime.
I quit…
Then there was the time I was gonna lose weight by doing medi-fast. I bought months worth of powdered food and cardboard snacks. I stocked the pantry and of course, my glove compartment so I’d never be without a “medi-meal”. It turns out, you can only eat so much “food” that is dry enough to stick to your lips before you break down and eat something made of ACTUAL FOOD.
So, I quit…
The big problem is that starting something new, typically costs money and spending money sometimes requires justification. And when you have “shared money” with a life partner, that justification has to pass the test of both yourself and said partner. Quitting feels like a waste of money…
I am fortunate and aware of my good fortune. Jerry Patterson believes in me. He believes that I make good choices and has never thrown one of my quits back at me later. He is human and he has tried things (that cost money) that he decided later were not for him.
But here’s something I didn’t quit. I became a doula.
20 years ago, I became a doula and I have never, ever, not even one time, have wanted to quit. It’s sort of like this magic mystery. I’ve not been bored of it, I’ve not felt it was too difficult, I’ve not decided it wasn’t for me. I’ve never even thought about quitting. Supporting others is what makes me, me. Being a doula is as normal for me as breathing air is.
This is where passion comes in. When we have deep passion for something, we stay connected to it. People, sentimental objects, recipes, books, poems, etc… When we don’t, we don’t. I did not have deep passion for eating powdery packaged food or gift basket making or the dozens of other things I started and quit. So I simply, moved on.
That does not mean that I don’t deserve to try something else! It means I simply haven’t found my best fit yet.
If you are sitting on the “become a doula or become a childbirth educator or become a placenta specialist fence,” you owe it to yourself to try this one more thing. You deserve to find what you love; what makes you tick!
Even if it costs money.
When it comes to investing, my best advice is always to invest in self. I am a low to no risk investment!
I will do the work. I will either learn, grow or succeed and all 3 make me a better, wiser, stronger woman. That makes me, the best thing to invest my money in.
Life changes and life cycles bring us to different phases, which means I may not “do” doula work every day forever, but, I am certain that I will “be” a doula for my whole life.
Authored by: Randy Patterson, The Rock n’ Roll Doula
