Let's stop and reflect - 2wks into the trip

Hello peeps!

Tomorrow will be 2wks I have started my trip, and I feel like a bit of introspection time is due :)

Here we go then - 2 wks ago:
- I left the UK to start my 15 months adventure around the world
- I was looking forward to spending my days at the beach, eating seafood and drinking fruit juices at every meals, including snacks
- I was a little sad to leave behind my life and friends but eager to get on the road. At the same time I was a bit anxious as to how things would go since I have never done any traveling on my own for such a long time before

Now, 2wks after:
- I have been actively looking for a job since last week - either teaching for the Xmas holidays or as crew on a boat. I actually miss the routine of going in the office!!!
- I have met an American guy also on holidays in Martinique and we are now hanging out regularly to go to the beach or drinks
- My hair and skin are so happy - no dryness, no tightness, just happy and full of life
- I do spend most of my days at the beach, but I am definitely not eating as much seafood or drinking as much fruit juice as I thought I would!
- I have lost all sens of time or days passing, which can be slightly disconcerting sometimes
- I find it rather difficult to keep the routine of working on my training and I am already 1wk behind schedule - not good at all as my credentials are time bound, so I will have to make up the missed sessions somehow!!
- After 2wks back here my home country I can safely say that I will not be able to come and live here - something I have known for a while now, but now it is confirmed beyond any doubt :(

Verdict of these 2wks:
Still very much positive. I truly believe I took the right decision to go away for a while. Despite missing my friends dearly, having my own home and - I know, I am crazy - the routine of going to the office, I feel good and I am enjoying every single minute of it!

This is a feeling I wish everyone could enjoy. Taking control of ones life is one of the most exhilarating joys you could ever experience - so people, TAKE CONTROL and enjoy :)

That's it for now, I am off for a ride with my little nephew. He's so cute, but what a nightmare to look after!

7 days to Xmas.....  :)

Warning - Deep thinking about life and other things...

Hello peeps!

I finally got my backpack last w.e and my ticket for the Caribbean this week. I have also confirmed my visits here and there with friends and family. And I am looking up casual work opportunities to earn some pennies whilst lounging it on the beach :)

So this is it, I am all set to go! One small detail - I still have got 3wks to go in the office. Which brings me to a bit of reflection today - sorry in advance for the page long post!

My company requires us leavers to give at least 3 months notice, so I handed out my resignation back in August. For the whole month of September, I was still giving it 300%, staying in late, even working on Sundays. Then October came, together with an increasingly difficult ability to focus on the petty fights, back stabbing, finger pointing and similar cr@p happening around me. Now November is here and I am in my last 3wks of working routine.

Three months is a long time. I handed out my notice in August, but my decision to go was taken a good couple of months before, and I have been toying with the idea for at least 2-3yrs. So all in all, I have been gone, at least in my head, for something like half a year already.

There are good points and bad points to this situation.

The good:

- It's been 6 months I have stopped being stressed at work.

- So it's been 6 months I am more efficient in my work - believe it or not!

- I sleep better and wake up with a smile on my face.

- It's been 6 months I stepped out of the office politics game - again, much better for my own sanity.

- I can now see things with a new perspective and can pin point where processes are letting the business down - therefore where improvements can be made.

- I can bring a breeze of fresh air to my teammates and pick them up with my positive energy.

Now the bad:

- It's been 6wks I find it difficult to focus on the little details. Most of the time there is no detrimental effect on my work, but sometimes, things can end up a bit behind. That said, things still got to slip when I was like a hawk on every single useless details of a project because of the clutter it was causing in my little head.

- I am becoming increasingly selfish in my approach to things, and not always offering to help. I know - baaaad - but as a result I don't get drawn into activities which are not within my area of responsibility and would therefore only end up diluting my time even more. Something to do with too few people, too much to do...

- I am now trying to get other people in the office to do something for themselves - very baaad from the company point of view!

And the ugly: people could be dropping dead around me on my last day in a bid to make me stay longer, but I would just step over them on my way to the door and say bye!

In a nutshell - I am a much more efficient, approachable and motivating team member. How sad is it that I have become an A-star worker because I know that I am leaving soon.

Maybe the secret is to give your notice - at least in your head - as soon as you start a new job. The good in my list far outweigh the bad, which is only bad if you don't care about the well being of people in the workplace.

My learning though is there is no secret. Life is too short to waste any of it - not even a few months. You should ONLY do the things DECIDE to do.

If you are unhappy in a job, then you should move on and find a new one you will happy in. Why stay somewhere for the sake of being able to moan about the job or the company? You wont get any of the good from my - very short - list, whereas the bad will only add up.

However if you DECIDE to be somewhere, then make sure:

1. It is a job/company that you really choose to be in. We have all heard the old story - recession, I need money and I will die in the gutter if I don't take this job. But aside from a handful of life or death situation, nobody EVER had to take a job. Stop the bullcr@p and man up for goodness sake!

2. You wake up everyday with a smile on your face because you will be going to do something you enjoy and strive for.

3. And because work is only part of the day - make some time for yourself every day and do something that makes you feel good. Again, we all know the old story - need 25hrs in the day to fit it all, what about the kids and house cleaning, I am shattered when I leave the office, it is dark outside, I am broke - but, seriously? Do you really believe that?

Now go and enjoy, because you never know what is coming your way.