The Search for Balance in Life
I started out the year writing about how I wanted to find balance in my life. The search continues as it isn’t something that can be accomplished overnight. I’m currently working and taking three courses at the same time. Having to drive out to a class after work and coming home around 10 pm is mentally and physically draining. I don’t have to do it very often, but trying to plug in 15-20 hours of studying on top of work and trying to find balance is tough.
I know I’m not the only one out there that’s going through a similar situation. Kudos to those of you that are investing the time and money into yourself to make yourself smarter and more marketable, it will pay off eventually. At the end of the day, knowledge is power and there isn’t anything to lose by learning new things. Keep at it.
But in the midst of all this studying and work I always like to take a step back and look at the big picture. I know, I probably should be doing this more often.
You look at all the different people out there and how they live their different lives. How some people have no money and others have a ton of it. How some people are happy and some aren’t or some look happy, but aren’t happy at all. How some people look like they have a huge number of friends (or like 1,741 Facebook friends) but have noone they can’t talk to about important matters. And well people that have like 5 designations but don’t really make all that much money.
All that makes me wonder if I’m doing the right thing, I second-guess myself all the time and then come to the conclusion that I need to think about the longer term. Taking courses aren’t cheap, and like I said the mental and physical strain takes its toll. But in 5-10 years I’ll be looking back thanking myself for gutting it out. Sure, it might lead to a better job, but more importantly I’ll be a more competent person (hopefully!) This second-guessing goes beyond my studies and everything else I do. Do you ever have a time when you second-guess yourself?
Yes, this turned out to be a bit of a rant post so I apologize for that. It almost sounds like I’m trying to justify myself for what I’m doing and that just might be the case. I have a long year ahead of me in 2012 in terms of studying and I need to stay on track while juggling work and other things. Having said all that, finding a balance in life will probably take a little longer…
The next post, I’ll talk about retiring young and what it takes. I read this inspirational post about someone retiring at the age of 30! Stay tuned.
Photo of city scene in Hamamatsu Cho, Japan by heiwa4126 on Flickr.
