Everyone has hopes, dreams and the proverbial “OMG WTF am I doing with my life” moments. Most of us have aspirations of doing better, if not great things. So what’s stopping YOU? What’s your bailiwick? Full disclosure, I’ve been trying to use that word in a sentence without sounding like a pompous know-it-all for awhile now.
We get into a rut at work and become slaves to the big rat race of saving up cheese without realizing there is another cheese wheel someplace else. I’ve actually worked with people who haven’t been 5 hours outside of their city in any direction. Who does that? Even bears travel after hibernating all winter.
If you’re about that closed minded “live in a shoe box” life that’s great. Feel free to continue peeping out of the window at your neighbors, wearing flannel pajamas and enjoying missionary only.
Generally, most of us have a sense of adventure, but we seldom act on it. I decided to visit a Caribbean island with white sands and crystal clear blue water. It changed me. It’s fair to say it was life altering.
I knew right then that I didn’t want back to the same old life I once had before. I went back to work weeks later renewed, reinvigorated with a completely different mindset. My coworkers noticed the change immediately. “Hey bruh, what’s up? You seem distracted, like you don’t give a damn about anything anymore”. Which wasn’t entirely true…..I did however stop sacrificing my soul to a job that would see me replaced quicker that an oil change at JiffyLube if I messed up. There’s an old military adage that goes, “one disciplinary action can erase 8 years of awards and commendations’.
I wasn’t going to wait around to see any of that come to pass. My mind was elsewhere. I was in planning mode.
Most good stories begin with “I met this girl.”
But you know what’s really funny when you hear that statement, is that you KNOW it’s either going to be the absolute worse train wreck of a story ever or an amazing tale of bliss and nuptials. Fortunately for me, it was the latter. Just like Pavlov conditions his pups, a woman can have you with mange, gangly and sickly or leading the pack as alpha.
Pray you don’t get the one with the shock collar and dog biscuits.
Mine on the other hand, was like “live in paradise, is that a trick question?” We both made the jump after 7 and 9 years of working for law enforcement. Did I mention planning? Lots of it. Never jump off a cliff without knowing how deep the water is.
A life raft is also helpful.
The Economy of Words 