Sunday 8 July 2012

Speed Bumps

I haven't thought of it as a case of 'better the devil you know' because I've always understood that to be referring to being in a cruddy situation but being afraid that leaving it might land you in something worse.
Complacency may have the same effect though.
Things are OK so change isn't at the top of the list of things to do.

There's stuff I want to learn, goals I want to achieve, and whilst I've been moving towards them, I never feel that I've made as much progress as I'd like in the time since I set those goals.

For instance, I've been a bit bored at work for a while now but my searching for a new job has been sporadic because:
  1. I'm not quite sure what I want to do next,
  2. getting a new job will probably involve the added complication of moving because I don't live anywhere particularly central, and
  3. even though I'm a bit bored, my life isn't bad.
I'm making enough money, my place is OK, I see a decent amount of my friends and family, I've been able to travel etc etc etc.

The thing is, even though I'm having a decent enough time, you've only got so many years in your life and I've been in my current job for five years. That's a few more years than you want to devote to 'things are going OK' unless you've achieved a few more things.

I want that 'what if I cock up!?' nervous excitement of starting a new job.
I want to meet new people.
I want to live in different places.
I want to try new things.

I can visualise all this happening easily enough but when I do it's always 'in the future' and after five years of the present, I'm having to put a boot up my own bum to remind myself that the future doesn't just happen by itself.

I'm not planning to quit my job and just run out into the world, hoping that something will fall into my lap but I am going to make more of a concentrated effort to start things moving.

I'll start with what I'm good at - making lists - and then move onto what I'm determined to be better at - making decisions.

I don't want another five years to pass and to still be sitting here going 'but things are OK'.

This Akimbo comic nails the feeling pretty well (click for bigness). 

Disclaimer: I know the argument in this comic really only applies to people who are lucky enough to have certain opportunities and circumstances and can't be smugly held up to people who are living in poverty and struggling to survive and feed their families.




Akimbo Comics

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