Alright, let me walk you through what happened when I got Hexagram 49 from the I Ching not too long ago. I wasn’t specifically looking for ‘revolution’, believe me. Things just felt… stuck. Like walking through mud, you know? Same old routine, same old frustrations building up at my job back then.
So, one evening, I decided to consult the I Ching. I’ve got my own set of coins, nothing fancy. I just calmed my mind, focused on this feeling of being stuck and needing a way forward, and did the coin tosses. Six times, writing down the lines as I went. When I looked up the resulting hexagram, it was number 49, Ge. Revolution. Molting.
My first reaction? A bit of a jolt. Revolution sounds big, maybe even violent or disruptive. It wasn’t quite what I thought I was asking for. I was hoping for a gentle nudge, maybe, not a complete overhaul. I read the descriptions I have in my old book. It talked about shedding the old skin, like a snake, or water putting out fire – fundamental change.
Thinking It Through
I didn’t just jump into action. I sat with that reading for a few days. Kept thinking about that ‘stuck’ feeling. The hexagram forced me to admit that maybe the small tweaks I’d been trying weren’t cutting it. Trying to be more positive, organising my desk differently… none of that was addressing the core issue: the job itself just wasn’t right for me anymore. It felt like the hexagram was saying, “Stop patching the leaks; you need a new boat.”
It was pointing directly at my work situation. The environment had become pretty toxic, honestly, and the work itself felt meaningless to me after years of doing it. Hexagram 49 felt like a validation, a permission slip almost, to consider something drastic.
Making the Move
So, I started taking steps. It wasn’t overnight revolution, more like a planned one.
- I began by seriously updating my resume, something I hadn’t done in years.
- Then, I started looking around, really looking, at different types of work, even different fields. Talking to people.
- I secretly started saving up a bit more aggressively, building a cushion just in case.
- Finally, I worked up the nerve and handed in my notice. That was the big step, the real point of no return.
It was scary, no doubt about it. Leaving the familiar, the steady paycheck, even if it was making me miserable. There were moments I absolutely doubted if I was doing the right thing. Was I just being impulsive? Was the I Ching reading just a coincidence I was reading too much into?
Where Things Landed
Well, it wasn’t smooth sailing immediately. Finding something new took a bit longer than I hoped. There was some belt-tightening. But eventually, I landed something quite different. A smaller company, less pay initially, but way more aligned with what I actually enjoy doing. The atmosphere is just… breathable. Healthier.
Looking back, Hexagram 49 wasn’t about chaos for its own sake. It was about necessary change. When things are fundamentally broken or stagnant, sometimes you really do need to tear down and rebuild, or shed that old skin completely to allow for new growth. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, forced me to confront what wasn’t working, and ultimately led me to make a change that, while difficult, was absolutely needed. It was a practical nudge towards a real transformation, not just wishing things were different.
