One of the many beautiful things about having a few years behind you is the perspective it gives you. I can look back on my life and see how it is broken into seasons. Some seasons were all about raising family and trying to make ends meet, while others have been about personal growth and introspection. The last two years of my life, the season has been mainly focused on work and keeping all of the balls in the air for the nonprofit that I manage on a very short staff.
Seasons. What is starting to change, and the season I am slowly evolving into, is intentionality (is that even a word?). With Covid and its limitations on our fundraising, I was forced, as were many others, into a season of doing more with less at work - less staff, less funding ...
I have spent the last few weeks / couple of months - taking a step back and examining the structure of my life and where it is vs. where I want it to be. I just turned 53, and I still have a ton of personal goals I want to achieve. None of these are centered around work. Yes, I still want to have a fulfilling career, but what that looks like is starting to change. Now that I am taking the time to really look at it, what I want in my work life is nowhere close to where I am.
Instead of thinking of how to grow my role / income, I am starting to examine how much I really need to live comfortably, and thinking about what I can cut out so that I can reduce my workload and stress.
How is that for a mind shift? Lol.
Anyway - it is a work in progress, but it is active - I am starting to come to some decisions about the next phase of my life. Will I continue to work hard at nonprofit, or will I choose to give that all up and wait tables where I can serve people on a more personal level? That wouldn't be my only option but it is an option.
I just had a great discussion with Scotty Kummer of Ten Junk Miles fame, and we discussed that and a bunch of other general life stuff with running / race directing talk thrown in. It was a great visit, and it pretty much covered all of the bases. Check it out if you have the time or desire:
Click the pic for the link, and as always ...
Happy Running!
Edie
