It was so weird yesterday. I had to return equipment, badges etc for my old job....and in doing so had to go to one of the offices that I spent time in during the last two years. When I first was given notice.......I was dreading this moment, believing that should it come to me being released from my current company, that the fear of being unemployed, no earnings, would be too much to bear.
Therefore, imagine my surprise yesterday when I left the building and my initial reaction was relief!!!! In a bizarre turn of events, the termination in paper.....in a tangible form, that my old working life was no more brought about a feeling in my mind where I felt free.....free to choose, free to dream, free to go after a job that I want. Now of course, I always had such liberty. However, when one is in the middle of a busy job, you can quite easily and unknowingly silence your own dissatisfaction about a situation. I suppose this is what, in the past, separated me from those people who enjoy and are successful in their working lives. They do not waste time in a role/company that they know is not for them and/or conflicts with their internal happiness and/or career aspirations.
So I walked out of the building.....looked across the street to my former office and there were no regrets. Of course I am not saying that I won't make mistakes in my working life again in the choices I make......indeed I am expecting too! However, what I would like to change is self awareness.....albeit a greater one of time, effort, happiness in relation to my work. We all spend so much time there. I no longer want to create a mental cage for myself where I feel unable to leave a role/company due to fear! It just brings to the fore how controlling fear can be in our lives, IF we cede power to it! So for the future, I need to build a greater nest egg so that I can easily survive a period of unemployment.
Feel the fear and do it anyway.
AbFab
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Monday, 25 February 2013
Every 5 years
Have you ever noticed, that in part or parts of your life, there is the 5 year threshold? You move abroad....stay for 5 years....move......you are in a job for 5 years....leave....etc etc. What is it about 5 years that seems to be after which, change or a life marking decision needs to be made? Maybe it is that correct amount of time after which you have gone through the beginning, middle and the end of a chapter in your life, marking a time to move on. Or.....is it a spiritual awareness of sorts, whereby your inner self and/or soul is telling you that it is time to move on in your life rather than to stagnate?
Of course, the "5 year rule" is not always true in every case and also, at times it is ignored, be it for good or bad reasons. I think back to a professional role that I performed for a company for almost ten years. When I reflect.....I should have left or sought out a change after having done 5 years in that role, and the consequences of making that decision I still feel today. However, the fact that I stayed in that role, put me in contact with a person in my life that eventually played an instrumental role in my coming to Switzerland when I did. The question is, would fate have determined that I came to Switzerland in any case......or by not moving on after 5 years and not having listened to my inner self, did I ignore my true destiny and change my life path? An answer to these questions will never be known, and nor should they be. I suppose in the end, what is true is that life is what you make it yourself, that the future is not set in stone, that you make your own destiny.
Of course, the "5 year rule" is not always true in every case and also, at times it is ignored, be it for good or bad reasons. I think back to a professional role that I performed for a company for almost ten years. When I reflect.....I should have left or sought out a change after having done 5 years in that role, and the consequences of making that decision I still feel today. However, the fact that I stayed in that role, put me in contact with a person in my life that eventually played an instrumental role in my coming to Switzerland when I did. The question is, would fate have determined that I came to Switzerland in any case......or by not moving on after 5 years and not having listened to my inner self, did I ignore my true destiny and change my life path? An answer to these questions will never be known, and nor should they be. I suppose in the end, what is true is that life is what you make it yourself, that the future is not set in stone, that you make your own destiny.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Body or mind transformation or both?
I was shopping the other day, surprise surprise.....and as spring is fast approaching I thought it time to inject some new colour into my wardrobe. So....I bought bright, sky blue pants.....and am totally loving them.
When I saw them on the rack......the label said "extra slim fit".....and in my head I was thinking.....no way will they fit. The surprise, they did and no.....it does not look like I am wearing tights! :-)
They fit now.....but 4 years ago there would not have been a hope in hell. Back then, I went through a phase where I was really into bodybuilding, a phase that I thoroughly enjoyed and with no regrets. It taught me various lessons such as the power of the mind.....how we can go beyond our perceived limits and many more. My weight increased by around 7 or 8kg...all muscle! With that.....of course, my body shape. The blue jeans I bought the other day would not have passed my thighs had I bought them back then.
Now, I have "slimmed" down and I much prefer my body shape now. However, at least I know what it is like to have more muscle (bulky) on one's body, and can now respect the effort of those who are body builders, and the dedication it takes to get to, and maintain such a size. Even though I have lost the bulk, I have not lost the lessons. Surprisingly, these lessons can translate into several parts of my life. Such as the lessons of:
- Never give up. Just when you think you cannot go on....try again and you will be surprised at what you can achieve.
- The mind usually tells you to stop, when in fact there is more you can achieve.
- Success comes from making an effort, welcoming change. Staying still is not an option.
- When you are determined to achieve, and not give up, others will notice and recognise your effort.
- To make such an effort to change, you must be doing it only for one person, yourself. To work hard for other people's wishes, will only bring about unhappiness.
The above were just some of the surprising lesson's learned. What also is amazing to me is how we can affect our own body shape, be it for the good or the bad. The lesson here is that the power is within us to effect such a change, be it on our own bodies and/or our own lives.
When I saw them on the rack......the label said "extra slim fit".....and in my head I was thinking.....no way will they fit. The surprise, they did and no.....it does not look like I am wearing tights! :-)
They fit now.....but 4 years ago there would not have been a hope in hell. Back then, I went through a phase where I was really into bodybuilding, a phase that I thoroughly enjoyed and with no regrets. It taught me various lessons such as the power of the mind.....how we can go beyond our perceived limits and many more. My weight increased by around 7 or 8kg...all muscle! With that.....of course, my body shape. The blue jeans I bought the other day would not have passed my thighs had I bought them back then.
Now, I have "slimmed" down and I much prefer my body shape now. However, at least I know what it is like to have more muscle (bulky) on one's body, and can now respect the effort of those who are body builders, and the dedication it takes to get to, and maintain such a size. Even though I have lost the bulk, I have not lost the lessons. Surprisingly, these lessons can translate into several parts of my life. Such as the lessons of:
- Never give up. Just when you think you cannot go on....try again and you will be surprised at what you can achieve.
- The mind usually tells you to stop, when in fact there is more you can achieve.
- Success comes from making an effort, welcoming change. Staying still is not an option.
- When you are determined to achieve, and not give up, others will notice and recognise your effort.
- To make such an effort to change, you must be doing it only for one person, yourself. To work hard for other people's wishes, will only bring about unhappiness.
The above were just some of the surprising lesson's learned. What also is amazing to me is how we can affect our own body shape, be it for the good or the bad. The lesson here is that the power is within us to effect such a change, be it on our own bodies and/or our own lives.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
To the future
I had a weird sensation this morning. I had just completed my second meeting with the unemployment office and was walking towards my home. In the distance, I saw the building where I had spent the last two years of my working life, a place where largely I had had a positive experience while working there, from the professional experience gained and the lovely new friends that I had made thanks to the environment.
Now however I was looking at a building that I no longer wanted to see the interior of. It now represents that past, and the past should not be relived. Also, since leaving that particular workplace, it is clear that my professional future, if it is to be happy, must not be in such an environment. How odd it is to prefer to be for now unemployed, rather than work and be just "existing."
The task now is to secure a happier professional career.....this "break" is a window of opportunity that I must be determined not to waste. It brings to mind how necessary it is for us all in life to stop.....take stock of the situation we find ourselves in and ask if we are happy......if we are on the right path.....if change is needed or not. Most of us can simply soldier on in automatic pilot mode, sometimes on a path which does not suit and/or a path which makes us unhappy, all while not actually realising it. Sometimes what can appear to be negative (for me in this case looses my job), could instead be a blessing in disguise to a happier future.
Now however I was looking at a building that I no longer wanted to see the interior of. It now represents that past, and the past should not be relived. Also, since leaving that particular workplace, it is clear that my professional future, if it is to be happy, must not be in such an environment. How odd it is to prefer to be for now unemployed, rather than work and be just "existing."
The task now is to secure a happier professional career.....this "break" is a window of opportunity that I must be determined not to waste. It brings to mind how necessary it is for us all in life to stop.....take stock of the situation we find ourselves in and ask if we are happy......if we are on the right path.....if change is needed or not. Most of us can simply soldier on in automatic pilot mode, sometimes on a path which does not suit and/or a path which makes us unhappy, all while not actually realising it. Sometimes what can appear to be negative (for me in this case looses my job), could instead be a blessing in disguise to a happier future.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
recognise the reality
I was at a meeting yesterday. One with a recruitment agency.....which turned out to be the most professional recruitment consultant I have dealt with.
In any case....we talked and at the end.....he detailed some roles that based on my experience, he strongly believes that I could apply for should I wish. At first I was a bit flabbergasted....me...in those roles.....is he sure? However then I saw what he meant, how to be successful in those roles, it was important to display some of the skills that I have used in my previous roles.
It got me thinking......about how we can sometimes not recognise our own reality, recognise our own worth and strengths (and weakenesses). This is not exactly a failing, more a product of being busy with life, work, home and not taking time out to recognise both our accomplishments and skills, but more importantly their value. The opposite can also be true, in that we should recognise our failings, mistakes, when we hurt people and not brush over and such actions as insignificant. Far from being negative, this helps us learn, learn how to make a weakness a strength and build a more successful and happy life.
All in all, yesterday's meeting brought home how essential it is for us to live in the now, to not exist in our own realities but to be the active player in it.....to enjoy, learn and build on our realities. It is so easy to see so many years go by wasted, in the blink of an eye......to ignore the value of someone or something and not give it/them the deserved attention and value.
The past is past and cannot be undone, the present builds the future which we will live tomorrow :-)
In any case....we talked and at the end.....he detailed some roles that based on my experience, he strongly believes that I could apply for should I wish. At first I was a bit flabbergasted....me...in those roles.....is he sure? However then I saw what he meant, how to be successful in those roles, it was important to display some of the skills that I have used in my previous roles.
It got me thinking......about how we can sometimes not recognise our own reality, recognise our own worth and strengths (and weakenesses). This is not exactly a failing, more a product of being busy with life, work, home and not taking time out to recognise both our accomplishments and skills, but more importantly their value. The opposite can also be true, in that we should recognise our failings, mistakes, when we hurt people and not brush over and such actions as insignificant. Far from being negative, this helps us learn, learn how to make a weakness a strength and build a more successful and happy life.
All in all, yesterday's meeting brought home how essential it is for us to live in the now, to not exist in our own realities but to be the active player in it.....to enjoy, learn and build on our realities. It is so easy to see so many years go by wasted, in the blink of an eye......to ignore the value of someone or something and not give it/them the deserved attention and value.
The past is past and cannot be undone, the present builds the future which we will live tomorrow :-)
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