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My friends told me quitting my job was a mistake
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My friends told me quitting my job was a mistake

Why you can't always expect your "friends" to support you when you make a life-changing decision.

Anangsha Alammyan
Nov 1, 2021
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My friends told me quitting my job was a mistake
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Dear friend,

Many of you might be knowing I quit my job in September 2021 and am nearing my second-month anniversary of being a full-time writer. The journey so far has been AMAZING. I have a lot of freedom to do what I like, and the feeling of being in control gives me so much power.

I also have more “free” time, even though self-employed people are supposed to be working 27/7. This has only been possible because I made detailed plans about how and when to leave my job and ensured that I have enough backup savings to fall back upon.

If you’re contemplating a similar decision and would want to know more about quitting your job to pursue your passion, you can always leave a reply to this email and let me know your thoughts.

Today’s post is about why you can’t expect support from your friends if you take an off-beat career or life decision. People might be happy for you and genuinely want the best, but their ways of showing it might be super weird.

When I told my colleagues at my previous job that I’m quitting my job to become a full-time writer, all they had for me was negativity.

They told me I was making a mistake and that I won’t ever find success with something like writing. These were the same friends who never purchased a single copy of my book when it came out.

But when I announced the same on Medium and LinkedIn, I got thousands of messages from strangers in different parts of the world applauding my decision and wishing me the best. Some even told me I inspired them, and that reading my words gave them the audacity to dream big.

The love was overwhelming, and I still get teary-eyed with gratitude thinking of that immense love and goodwill.

Image from author’s Instagram

Why you can’t expect support from ‘friends’

You see, when you do something for your own (write a book, start a freelancing business, launch your first venture), most of your real-life friends and family members won’t support you.

Sometimes, they might do it because of their fear-based mindset and their worries about “What if it all goes wrong?” They genuinely care for you, but they don’t know it’s possible to dream big and actually achieve it.

At others, your friends won’t support you because they know you both have come from the same place. And yet, you’re at the start of something exciting, whereas they’re at the same old boring place. Their jealousy won’t let them wish good for you.

Such instances will hurt you. They’ll make you question your abilities and decisions. They’ll force you to spend precious energy trying to counter the negativity and convince yourself of your potential.

But you know what! If you know you’re on the right path, you don’t need anyone else’s approval.

Life is short, and there’s no point living it by the rules and expectations of other people.

You do you, my friend, quite literally.

And no one should be able to take that choice away from you.


But you’ll find support at unexpected places

On the positive side, you’ll see a lot of love from strangers on the internet. These people might not know where you come from, but they’ve seen you struggle, and they’ll support you wholeheartedly.

Their belief in you will make you want to try outrageous things and experiment with varying opportunities.

And today, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the amazing community of friends and connections I’ve built on my newsletter. I’ve been building it since 2019, and the growth has been slow, sure, but I value each and every one of you lovely people.

I don’t know what I did to deserve so much love, but if you’re reading this, know that I cherish you and am sending you all the love and the good vibes right back at you.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for being a part of the journey.


If you’ve ever dreamed of being a full-time writer, there cannot be a better time than NOW to start! To help people become highly paid writers, I’ve launched a FREE 5-day course just for you.

Join the FREE course today


Note that I create this newsletter for you every week with lots of love. If you’d like to support me (or maybe send me a birthday present), here’s a link you can use to buy me a book.

Buy me a book

If you found this letter useful, don’t forget to forward this to a friend or ask them to sign up for my newsletter. It’s free, and you know me, I only send valuable content.

Share Be Your Best Friend with Anangsha

That’s all from my end today. I’ll see you again soon. Till then, stay strong. Keep smiling and be awesome.

With love,
Anangsha.

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Ravi Tandon
Writes Ravi’s Musings Nov 1, 2021

You are doing great. One of the biggest lessons I follow is to not to listen to "friends" :)

Keep writing!

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Swapnil Chand
Nov 3, 2021

this is accurate and weird at the se time... Jealousy is normal isnt it...so the people from whom we want the most support may turn against us;.;Becoz they wont think thats possible anything that we dream of...

Thnk u di for sharing this😀

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