Have you ever up and decided, you have generally good intentions, but, it’s just not ultimately doing everyone any good?
Or, really, for whatever reasons, like Pump Up the Volume, you decide that it’s not working out for you, and, so, rather than end things, let’s try instead a radical change of life?
IOW, FWR, have you taken a random or otherwise random or unusual or unexpected LIFE CHOICE? Or, WTF I’m gonna… X?
Why, and, how did it work out for you?
Although it wasn’t sudden, if that’s more what you’re looking for, I think my decision to sell my home and relocate, was my attempt to run away from home, so to speak.
It’s something I learned early in life from my mom. Things aren’t working out, move. I actually have to sometimes fight with myself not to repeat this. Or more accurately, if it weren’t for my spouse, I’d probably do this even now. Bored? Move… Stressed out, lets sell the house and move. A fresh start.
It’s very tempting to me.
ETA: It’s probably too early for me to decide if my last move was a good thing or not. The urge is pretty strong in me to run away right now, but I’m moody and this could change pretty quickly.
Sort of…I quit a job rather suddenly. I was in the process of both applying for grad school and (in theory) getting transferred to a different work location so that I could actually go to grad school part time (I had this all worked out with my bosses.)
Then, out of nowhere, my boss tells me that no, they aren’t relocating me, sorry. I told him right then that I was quitting. The words sort of came out without me thinking about it. Thing is, I hadn’t yet gotten a reply back from grad school, so I had no idea if I was accepted or not.
So I had about two months time of no job, living off of meager savings, waiting to see if I actually was going to do anything with my life…the reply took longer than I expected, so I actually started applying to jobs thinking I was royally fucked. I did eventually get accepted and go back to school for a few semesters, but dropped/failed out.
So at the end of the day, I’m now tens of thousands more in debt and back at that job I quit…so we can see how well a sudden, implosive, life change worked for me.
My junior year of college, after the second quarter (we were on the quarter system, if you count summer as a quarter. Technically, trimesters) I just decided that I needed to get the fuck out of Dodge and do something different for a year. I was just getting by in classes and, in retrospect, was probably depressed, although I never checked myself in to any psychologists or anything like that.
It was one of the more difficult things I had done, because my parents were very, very disappointed, thinking I was dropping out of school (which was never part of the plan), but I just knew for myself that staying in the same, stale environment was atrophying me. I needed to shake things up, and I just knew for myself that extricating myself from an environment I knew too well to one completely foreign to me would shake me out of my rut.
And it did. Spectacularly. I traipsed off on a student work visa to the UK, worked in Scotland for a couple of months, volunteered in Slovenia, and then in just post-war Croatia near the Croatian-Bosnian border. I was gone a total of 9 months, and I came back a completely energized person. Had no more academic problems, was way more confident, and the experiences and photos I took while out there (I’m a photographer) helped me land a job in Budapest as the chief photographer of an English business weekly there a couple years later. It was the best, most transformative experience of my life.
I have done this a couple of times, and it has always turned out well for me. The most dramatic was quitting academia after I had spent years getting my PhD and returning to grad school for a degree in a related field. Two years of living off savings and loans, then two more years of very little pay, but I ended up loving my new field. Then, 8 years after that, I quit my job to open a private practice, which was the best decision I ever made.
I think you meant “impulsive”, but “implosive” works, too. 
In Gatlinburg, TN there was a band that performed one summer in an outdoor venue. I thought they were great and went to hear them whenever I could. One night, after their set, I went up to the stage and asked if I could sing with them. The member I was speaking to was real nice and told me to come back the next day to practice and they’d see.
I sang The Look of Love acappella and they told me I could sing with them (not just one night, but two!) It felt fantastic singing under the stars for an audience with musicians I thought were really good. I’d performed in public before but this was special; the wind would sough through the trees during the performance, and the day’s warmth would crisp into a slight chill. Every pause in the music felt like a held breath. It was kind of magical.
I’d pretty much always been the kind of person who didn’t want to do things alone. I’m not talking about the grocery store, but going to a concert or something like that. If I didn’t have someone to go with, I just wouldn’t go.
About 16 years ago a minor league hockey team started up here. I went to the first game on a “you can’t say you don’t like it if you’ve never seen a live game” dare and immediately loved it. Problem was, my husband wasn’t interested in going.
After missing a lot of games I wanted to attend, I decided I was going alone. I have made so many friends there! I’m a Player Sponsor, get paid for making scrapbooks for players, and have an all-access pass for photography. I have a great time and only wish I had done it sooner.
Now, if there’s a concert or something I want to do and no one wants to go, I go by myself. I still enjoy having company, but I’m not going to miss out anymore!
Although I’m usually cautious and careful, I’ve ended relationships (friends/family/romantic), dropped out of high school, and quit a couple jobs somewhat on the spur of the moment and without a clear plan in mind. When I’ve had enough, I’m done, and I move on really fast. I don’t regret any of these decisions, they all worked out well for me.
i sold everything and moved to hawaii …25 years ago
Um… I think the most ‘Oh what the hell’ one was when I was on a working holiday in Australia- I was in Melbourne, and had just been offered a job- a friend left the day before I was supposed to start, and I went out for his leaving party- and when I woke up, I decided I was not going to go to my first day at work, and promptly flew to Cairns instead, with no plan, and virtually no money.
Worked out ok. Wouldn’t have met one of my now best friends if I hadn’t.
Also dropped out of Uni on impulse- deciding not to go to one of your exams is a very liberating feeling.
It wasn’t because I thought I’d fail, I might add, it was more the fact that my bro had just graduated with the same degree, and was now massively in debt, and working a very boring job he hated to pay it off, with no prospect of anything better. I suddenly properly realised I’d be in that situation too when I left, only owing even more money, as the costs had increased a lot in the previous few years.
At the time, I planned to go back later, once I’d decided what subject I really wanted to do (I was pushed to pick one NOW by my mother, and just chose the path of least resistance) but I didn’t, and now with the crazy fee increases, I doubt I will. I’m not sorry.
Sold up and shipped out five or six times now, moving from the UK to different countries just to see what’s up. Have lived in Japan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Thailand, the US. Am in the middle of one now and expect to be in yet another country within six months.
Motivations have been: boredom, heartbreak, following a partner, natural hiatus in my life (mid-life crisis maybe?)
Have never regretted it. I might when I get to retirement age though… but mostly it’s been unbelievably positive. Even when it’s been hard, or hasn’t worked out, it’s been a massive learning experience. And I’ve experienced and done things that most people will never have the privilege to do. I am profoundly grateful that my fucked up psychology makes me a Ramblin’ Man.
What an exciting life you’ve led. I’m envious.
That’s the thing about these sorts of questions. We never really know if our decisions are good ones or not without the benefit of hindsight. I doubt you’ll regret all the wonderful experiences you’ve had. At least I hope you never do.
My brief stint in Orlando was the result of a series of coincidences as well as a serious case of me not giving a fuck.
I saw a poster advertising an information session for the Disney College Program. It seemed mildly intriguing, but the kicker was that it was scheduled to occur during one of my Music Theory classes. They bored me to tears and I desperately needed an excuse to skip, so I said “Fuck it.” and went.
The informational dudebro described the program, and I knew I had to do it. I didn’t stop to think about whether or not it would be a good idea, I just said “Fuck it.” (quietly) and signed up for a phone interview and application.
During the phone interview, we went over some of the roles that I would be interested in, and the interviewer mentioned that in order to become a character performer, I would need to attend a dance audition in Rochester. 6-hour drive? No dance experience whatsoever? Fuck it. I went.
It wasn’t until I actually got accepted that I started making the necessary arrangements – talking to my academic adviser, the housing office, the financial aid office, and the registrar’s office to make sure that I could take a leave of absence without any problems. Somehow it all worked out fine, and I went on to have the time of my life!
I have a thread from a few years back where I’m trying to decide whether to move into my grandmother’s empty house or stay in a bigger city in an apartment. Pros and cons are weighed. The thread ended abruptly when I came in and said (paraphrasing) “fuck it, just found out my husband has a pregnant girlfriend”. When I got better enough to be sane, I up and quit my (pretty good, supporting two kids alone) job, moved in with my parents out of state and went to nursing school.
I had a university degree, I was working in a stable industry (pharmaceuticals - it has ups and downs, but people getting sick and needing medicine is kind of a constant in life!) at a good company, making decent pay for the work with good benefits and great coworkers.
I was miserable.
I quit and went back to school (with my husband taking on pretty much all the financials of our life) and just finished with another undergraduate degree in an entirely unrelated field (engineering). I’m looking for a job at the moment, but I already know that this is a much, much better path for me.