Hey, you. The person reading this page right now. I want to share something with you. It’s something that I believe very strongly, something that has served me well over the years.

It’s OK to change your mind.

This applies to anything. Relationships, religious and political views, career choices, what you want for dinner, whether you like pineapple on pizza…

You can change your mind for a variety of reasons, too. Maybe you learned something new. Maybe you experienced something different. Maybe your situation has changed. Maybe the vibes are off. It’s your life. As long as you’re not hurting anyone else with your choices, anything is fair game. And life is too short to keep going down a road that doesn’t lead to your preferred destination.

This is hard for some of us, and rightly so. We’ve been taught to keep going, to keep fighting for our goals. “Don’t quit!” well-meaning people in our lives say. I don’t mean to impugn this viewpoint; determination and grit and the refusal to give up are admirable qualities to have in pursuit of a goal that you really, truly wish to pursue.

But sometimes this die-hard attitude is unnecessary. Sometimes, in fact, it prevents us from taking advantage of beneficial opportunities. Even if that beneficial opportunity is just giving ourselves a break.

Take my husband, for example (don’t literally take him, though; I’m rather fond of the man). Several years ago, he quit his job as a machinist to pursue an Associate degree in computer programming. He enjoyed his classes and the additional time he got to spend at home with me and the kids (since his classes were remote). But he didn’t end up finishing that degree, despite only needing two more classes. “Oh my God! He was so close! Why didn’t he just finish it???” I hear you screaming. Well, first of all, the market for programming jobs changed drastically in that time period, such that an Associate degree was no longer going to cut it.

More importantly, during that time, he and my sister came up with an idea for a new business, and it was a great idea (our event planning company, Ravenwolf Ranch). Both I and our other sister joined, too, and the four of us are building something that we truly care about. Though my husband has returned to a weekend job as a machinist while we build this business, and though the programming goal has fallen by the wayside, that time and money he spent on the unfinished degree was not wasted. Not only did it allow him to embrace the new opportunity that arose, but it enabled him to spend precious time with our children. And the skills he learned in some of his classes have come in handy in our new business, too! So yes, it might seem like a shame that he changed his mind when he was so close to the summit of that mountain. But by not wasting his time summiting that mountain, he was able to commit his energy and resources toward a new path to a different summit. And this one has a much better view.

And now for the change of mind that inspired me to write this post. It’s completely insignificant compared to my husband’s experience, but it still illustrates exactly what I’m getting at here. My last post announced my intention to launch a series called “Revisiting Olympus,” in which I would read or reread novels based on Greek mythology and review them. Well, I read Mary Renault’s The King Must Die, an old favorite of mine, and not only did it hit very differently from what I remember (to be fair, I have learned A LOT since I was nine years old), but it also made me realize that I was not enthusiastic about this project I set for myself. I teach and talk about Greek mythology all the damn time. I don’t have much time to read, but I have a huge TBR pile that doesn’t include the Greek myth titles. Why did I put yet another thing on my plate, when it wasn’t something I was hungry for? Because I thought it might be entertaining for a few of the people who follow me? I do care – very much! – about engaging with my internet friends, but I don’t need to stick to this self-imposed goal when it’s probably better to just give myself a break.

TL;DR: I’m sorry I won’t be doing my Greek myth book reviews after all. I’ve changed my mind. And that’s ok.

Now, if I could only get better at saying “no” when people ask me for favors… Nope, that’s going TOO FAR!

Tell me, dear readers. What are some goals you have let go of or changed your mind about? Did the shift serve you well?

And, as always, feel free to subscribe if you want to be notified when I post something new.

In Proximum, Regina Vestra