A lot of you know how unhappy I’ve been with all the traveling my job has recently entailed. When I returned from my latest stint in Baltimore, ecstatic as always to get home, I was told I was going to Indianapolis before my coat was even off. That was too much for me, and I expressed it.

Caught off guard by my change in attitude, my boss basically agreed not to have me travel for a while, but had a lot of trouble hiding her displeasure with me, as well as her uncertainty as to what to do with me if I won’t travel. This left me in a bit of a professional limbo. All of a sudden being a trainer, though I love the job, didn’t seem like a viable option anymore because of the traveling required. I started thinking about what else I could do with myself.

Told my parents about this and they seemed a little irritated with my inability to accept the inconveniences that come with any job. They agreed that six weeks was difficult, but their take was that travel was part of my job, and I should just do it. You can’t expect everything to be perfect.

Anyway, yesterday the boss tells me not to worry about my professional future, she doesn’t want to lose me, and if that means not traveling anymore, she’ll find some teaching assignments in Montreal, or fly the learners here instead of flying me there. Absolutely everything I could ever have hoped to hear was said.

The best part of this is proving my parents wrong. Showing them that I DON’T have to settle for less.

However, to be honest, it’s made me wonder if I didn’t just luck out this time. This time, I followed my bliss, refused to simply accept what was asked of me, even though I had no idea what the consequences would be. It worked, the payoff is huge. But there undoubtedly are situations where compromise is the desirable option, where you simply have to be philosophical and take what fate deals. Otherwise, following your bliss at all times quickly translates into simply responding to every moment’s little impulse. My question is, how do you know which is which? When is it time to compromise, and when is it time to follow your immediate bliss?