"Don't take the free ride in your own life" - Nickelback

Some days, I listen to that line in the song and think, "yeah, that's me...pushing forward, going outside my comfort zone, making changes...whoo hoo!" and other times I kind of just want to tell the leader singer Chad to please, oh pretty please go and take a flying leap (and not using such nice words).

Tuesday was one of those days. Ol' Chad and his friends Bob (Seger), Melissa (Ethridge), Bono (um...guess he's one of those people with no last name) and others were singing away, keeping time to my pounding (feet) and panting (lungs) and I hated them all. I wanted to tell Melissa that, no, actually, I don't &%*$& run for life--because Tuesday while I was running, I couldn't have cared less about life!

I just wanted to give up. And not just for a minute. For every single minute of 60 minutes. It was so HARD.

I'm deep in the second month of my "back to health" regime and it has struck me more than once that the effort I'm putting forth, the energy it takes to rally my spirit and get my butt out of the chair and into exercise is kind of like the exertion you need to do something about your career. And whew, it's not easy sometimes, is it?!

When I'm not cursing at them for being so gosh darn chipper while I'm busy sweating my hands and everything else off (why do the back of my hands sweat when I run?) and no doubt seconds from dying of something really, really painful and bad (I think it's called melodrama), I really do appreciate my buddies along the road -- Chad, Bob, Melissa, Bono and especially Michael (long-suffering husband and chief cheerleader).

Couldn't do it without them, in fact.

They're there to vent at when you feel ugly and worn down and tired and hopeless (and they keep you from being overly nasty to the other 3-D people in your life!). On better days, they're there to lift your spirits and cheer you up and give you inspiration when you feel like you can fly.

Who are your career change buddies? You need 'em to remind you, among other things:

Don't take the free ride in your own life.

And after you've finished telling them to take a flying leap, you'll get through that horrible day and hopefully, have a day like I had today, when they'll make you smile and believe:

Yes, it is possible.