This weekend, we’ll celebrate the big holiday of our nation’s independence; however, I’ve already celebrated my independence day earlier this summer.

On June 7, 2002, I decided that I would stop living a life that wasn’t mine and start living an authentic life.

At the time, I was in a very stressful job in a very corporate company and it was literally draining the lifeblood out of me. It also didn’t help that I was doing all the things that I thought I was supposed to do. Trapped in a box of conventional thinking. Bogged down by the “shoulds” of life.

I wrote this in my writing journal on March 23, 2002:

“Anything worth having is hard because if that weren’t the case, everyone would have what they want. If I say I want to be a writer, but I don’t read and I don’t write, then how in the hell am I supposed to get better? How?

I have to understand that I must pay the price if this is what I want. I’m so out of excuses and left out in the open. I have a decision to make: write or die. It’s not melodramatic—it’s a true statement. I will die a slow death if I don’t make this change in my life. I can’t live someone else’s life. I have to make a choice and I have to believe that it’s the right choice for me to make.”

The change didn’t happen overnight, but it did eventually happen when I quit that job on June 7, 2002.

Every year since, I’ve celebrated this day because it started the catalyst to living my authentic life. I truly believe synchronicity played a major part in those early years. It led me to my writer mentor and my critique group. It gave me time to read books, attend conferences, and meet other kindred spirits. During this time of transition, I continued to learn the craft. I eventually finished a novel and got an agent. I seriously doubt any of this would have happened if I had stayed in my box living a false life.

I would love to be further along with my progress as a writer, but I realize it’s not the destination but the journey itself.

So don’t die a slow death. Pick a day when you start on your own journey. Make that your Independence Day. A special day each year to celebrate how much you’ve accomplished and to focus on the goals you still want to achieve.