After recently returning to Australia after a six week UK/EU vacation I find my thoughts drifting back to my holiday period. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's a distant memory because it's very much in my thoughts still however reality set in reasonably quickly once returning home, and to work.
I like my job however I like being away from it even more; Does that make me lazy or unambitious? I don't know. Probably not I guess. It's just that before I am anything else in this world I am "me" and I tend to focus on that more, or should I say, put more focus on being the me I want to be within the life I want to live than on other things and the me I want to be doesn't waste life focusing on the wrong things. Work is important, for sure, it allows me to provide the basics of life for my family and allows me to engage in more life-related things like hobbies, vacations and the like. So, I am not a slave to my job, nor do I allow it to define me, nor do I ignore it and choose to perform poorly.
I spoke to a friend from my companies' head office in Sydney today. She is away on sick leave and I wanted to check in with her. She has been away from work for about 4 weeks with 2 more to go depending on how her post-operative convalescing goes. She is not itching to get back to work despite being the driven and committed corporate career-girl she is; Her recent medical situation has left her questioning many things including the time [read: how much of her life] she devotes to the company and she's finding that a little confronting as she's always focused heavily on work and the corporate ladder.
Her problem is she's feeling less than enthused about the prospect of it all: The travel, responsibility and facadé she must present. I'm sure, like me coming back after my vacation, she'll have some transition time and then pick up where she left off of course but the seed of doubt has sown in her mind I think and to be completely honest I think she should nurture it. Life is precious. Work is a job.
My ethos is design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default and I put that into practice as often as possible. My friend and I have spoken about it many times and she is starting to understand why it's such an important part of my life-mantra. We are on this blue and green ball called Earth for a set period of time, 70-80 years shall we say? In that time we're babies, adolescents, young adults, middle aged and old. Then we die. Lights out. It's not a lot of time all things considered and making the most of the time we are allotted is critically important in my opinion.
So, I could lament the ending of my vacation and subsequent return to work just like my friend in Sydney could however in my humble opinion that's wasteful and pointless. Living my life by design and creation means many things. It means making my work life support my personal life, making my personal life as interesting and fulfilled as possible and being the best version of myself I can be. It means shaping my life into the image I would like to see, no matter if I'm at work or play and being able to look in the mirror and see the person I want to be looking back. It means designing a no-regret existence moving forward. It means applying ownership and responsibility for myself and how my life rolls out. It means that and so much more.
Living by default is not in my make-up although it used to be. I used to listen to the news-propaganda, buy into social-media, strongly soap-box my opinions and argue their case...All the classic things society loves to embrace; Even believing that the government are there for the people. How naive of me. These days I seek my own answers and truth and live as closely to my "design and create" ethos as I possibly can. Am I happy? Yep. Do I still miss my vacation despite all of this? Yep, you bet I do!
Thanks for reading.
(Image taken early June. Tintagel, Cornwall UK)
