Well, it’s been a funny old year. About this time in 2010, I was sitting at a desk in a soulless office, writing websites, drinking coffee and watching my life and my ambitions swirl slowly down the drain. I’d only taken the job to pay for my wedding and already it had taken over my life, and not in a good way.

I was depressed. This wasn’t me. I’d been touring theatre and producing shows since I was 17. I was a performer, a creative thinker. Now here I was, getting fatter, grumpier and watching my life hit a brick wall in teeth-shattering slow motion.

So I stopped. One day I just walked into work and told my employers, in an embarrassingly polite, wet liberal way, where they could stick their job (“Sorry! I hope it’s not too inconvenient, I know you’re busy.”)

Some people said that I was insane. Mind-bogglingly, eye-wateringly insane. I’d just resigned from a secure, reasonably well paid job in the middle of a recession. Insane!

But there were others who said something quite, quite different.

They said “Well done”. They even used the word, and I’m embarrassed to repeat it because I still don’t really believe them, “brave”.

Truth be told, I’m not insane. I’m not particularly brave either. I just made a choice. Move sideways into another dead end job or move forward into a career that I actually enjoyed. Simple really.

But has it worked? Am I happier, more fulfilled, more engaged and more successful now that I’m back in on stage and screen?

Well over the next few weeks I’m going to be sharing my experiences, thoughts, triumphs and failures with the readers of Frost Magazine. There have been good times, bad times and just-plain-weird times. I’ll also be sharing a bit of the wisdom I’ve learnt from casting directors and actors along the way.

But first, I’ll leave you with a question; What is the most impulsive choice you’ve ever made,… and did it work?

You can find out more about Tim Austin at his WordPress page; http://actortim.wordpress.com.

Check back next Wednesday for more Acting Up!