I’ve made big changes in my life over the past year. 

Some are obvious, like that I no longer work a ‘traditional’ job or have an apartment.  I own a fraction of the stuff that I used to, have been to more places in six months than I had in the six years prior, and am visibly healthier and happier. 

Others are more subtle: shifts in my daily mindset and outlook, in my priorities, how I operate, and in how I perceive my surroundings.

These changes came about because I had reached a point in my life where I had to decide whether I could continue on a path that was predefined but left me feeling lifeless, or deviate and pursue an alternative that allows me to live the life I want, now.

I chose pursuit. 

Rewind to 2015. 

By then, I had been living in New York City for five years, working in the demanding industries of Construction, Architecture and Real Estate Development.  I had entered the working world directly after college and graduate school, as usual. 

Like everybody, I was working A LOT, and I worked hard. 

In exchange, I had a successful career and disposable income but my personal life didn’t come close to balancing my work life. 

Life was “go, go, go.”  I was multitasking my multitasking, constantly rushing from one place to another, cramming as many things into one day as I could, only to crash late at night, barely able to pry my eyes open the next day to do the same thing all over again. 

It was an unpleasant and unrewarding cycle that left me uninspired.  

It was also an extremely unhealthy one, physically and emotionally.  One that resulted in me being permanently stressed and exhausted, and, more often than not, in a bad mood because of that.  Negativity and unhappiness dominated. 

I was severely burnt out.

I believe that if you don’t like something or if something isn’t working for you, you do something about it.  We can each change our circumstances. 

I didn’t like who I had become or the direction my life had taken, and knew that I couldn’t possibly sustain myself the way it was; my health and my sanity demanded I make deliberate changes. 

I also felt very limited and that I wasn’t actually living life; I was just going through the motions, and that was unacceptable to me. 

I place immense value on life.  I know that life is not guaranteed, and that time is finite and irreplaceable.  

I knew mine could be better spent.

Once I discovered the option of remote work, and through it, location independence, I knew that I had found not only a solution to having more control over how and where I spend my time, but the means to live the lifestyle I have always dreamed of.

See, since college, I have known that following convention was not the way I wanted to live. 

When I have thought about my life, I have always foremost envisioned having freedom and flexibility throughout to be able to take advantage of as many unique and interesting experiences and opportunities as possible.  To thoroughly explore the world, go on adventures, engage varied interests, and never stop growing.

Working remotely and living location independently allow me to do all that, and more.

And that’s a life I’m excited to wake up for.

This post on remote work is by Jessica Yubas.  Jessica is a digital nomad leading a location independent lifestyle by working remotely.  She is passionate about this lifestyle for a number of reasons, though most importantly for its ability to foster positive life change.  You can follow her at Capa Consulting Group’s blog, on Instagram and LinkedIn.