Civilian life is not an easy transition for most soldiers. Coming from a life where you are given orders, have no choices to make, to an ever growing crazy world of decisions and choices, is a difficult path for most servicemen and women. But how do you find the Support you need, and let others thank you for your service? One step is to do a little research, as there are great sites to link to here, ideas to how to motivate towards civilian life, and how to maintain your new civilian life.
Decisions, decisions
The hardest thing to decide is how to start your new life. Once you are back home, you may have a little money saved, have some educational opportunities that you can try, and maybe a dream deep down that is very different from the military.
Maybe you have always wanted to work in a restaurant, and learn a skill there to propel you into owning your own little restaurant. The dream is there, and it can take some time to actually see the door in front of you, but without, the dream you would have nothing. Here is the start, and you should celebrate that you have the place you know you want to be!
Start with the library, and search for business books, and some books on your favorite subject, cooking. You can evolve into that small business person quicker than you would think. It will require dedication, persistence, and resolve, but you already have those skills, as you were trained how to follow orders, and find the follow through in every action you take. Your dream is the first step, and your first choice.
You can break free of the organization and embrace the freedom
Sometimes the new open day, can get away from you. Before you know it, it can be 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and you have lost the entire day! Do not feel overwhelmed, just follow your dream, and build a plan on how to make it happen.
- Build a Plan: Just like any initiative in the field or any recon mission, you have a start, the information, and the end point. This is no different, but there are new variables, as you have no one to report to, and give you advice to help you along. In this case, rely on your friends and family for your support network, and build off of their advice and assistance. You can not do this alone, so do not try to encompass that circle by yourself.
- Research and Follow-through: Your best defense to see success in any new dream, is to find out as much as you can to get that new job, to build that business, or pursue the education you want to complete. You will need to fill out paperwork, apply for loans, have a plan, and know where to go to begin your process.
- Action and Persistence: Your activities that you need to complete should be written, tagged to dates and adequately tied to your resources that you will need to complete them. And, along the way, know there will be hiccups, and you should not be swayed by these walls, but even more dedicated to getting them done.
You will find yourself along the way
If you are looking for this dream, and your new life, you are going to be always pulling from your past. It is not easy to leave the bad experiences behind, but a mindset that they are in the past, can be helpful, but not always perfectly successful. You will have hard days, and you should know this is part of the growth period you are experiencing. You will be stronger if you do take the jump and move forward in a new direction.