We’ve talked about what it takes to be an Untemplater before. Some of the commenters claimed that something has to happen to a person that will make them want to change their lifestyle.
Brian said:
Maybe its just me, but I sort of feel the template has to break you.
Kari said:
It was waking up in the morning and wanting to run off to another city and disappear off the map that made me realize the template wasn’t working and I needed to be brave enough to go out on my own and find my own path.
And Financial Samurai said:
You break out of the norm b/c you are unhappy with your job, lack of job, life, boss, money, relationship, whatever. You wouldn’t break out and untemplate if you were happy!
Making a conscious and calculated decision to change your lifestyle is a huge deal. It can happen by building up over the years, or it can happen in an instant. When was that moment for you? How did it happen? When did you decide that you wanted to change your lifestyle? Under what circumstances did your attitude change and what first steps did you take to see this new plan through?
One one level, I’ve always resisted molds, and tried to walk my own path, regardless of popularity (in high school, there was no middle ground, people got me and loved me, or couldn’t stand me. This was true across all the groups and cliques).
On the other hand, I did break out of a template that I had unconsciously created for myself in college when I got to the point that I realized that I couldn’t stand being in a classroom with 30 kids.
At that point, I dropped out of college, got a job at a temp agency to give me exposure to a lot of different types of careers and pay the bills while I figured my life out, and started dating for the first time since high school. A year and a half later, I met my wife, and the stars just started to align. While we were dating, she moved with her family to the place that I had dreamed of living in since I was 8. And moving out here has provided me with a clearer view of the rest of what I want to do with my life.
Meg: Way to go. I understand where you are at, I made a major move last year and my wife doesn’t really get this stuff either (although, I have to admit, sometimes what the lifestyle designers are saying makes my head hurt too).
I really would like to know if the the primary catalyst for those who want to untemplate is because they are unhappy with their life.
For me it’s not so much being unhappy as not being able to do as much of the things I want to do if I “follow the path,” so to speak.
Yeah, racing events take place on the weekends and all, and traditional jobs won’t require me to work, but if I want to travel to multiple races in a year I’m going to wager they’ll start to get frustrated with me after the third or fourth trip every year…
I’m about to take the leap.. my first step is to do my graduation project abroad. Looking back, I noticed I’ve been wanting to live on my own for some time already and it’s now finally going to happen.. and in Melbourne, Australia even. Living in a big city, seeing new things, meeting new people, exciting times.
Current hurdle: an ash cloud over Europe that has caused cancellation of my flight. But I’m not going to let that discourage me 🙂
I decided I wanted to do this when I realized that my life didn’t have to be something I didn’t want it to be.
I am *just* starting my journey, too. My big catalyst is moving to a new state, it’s easy to make a lot of changes when an old routine is completely decimated and nothing comfortable is left around! 🙂 All told, my journey will start next month, and I need all the support I can get…. (My husband doesn’t really understand all this. :/)
I decided to make the leap right around the time I got a job at a large corporation. I’m working 2 jobs right now and attempting to bootstrap 2 entrepreneurial projects – but I’m certain that by this time next year I will finally be able to live a location independent lifestyle. I’ve always wanted to make enough money to be able to live around the world and to enjoy life, but now I realize that it doesn’t take a million dollars to do so. It takes an online business that is automated and the ability to cut down on all the expenses in your life that are not necessary.
The moment I was able to put precise words to what I wanted. That’s it.