Wednesday, 20 July 2016

What have I been doing with my life?

Looking back at my life, here's what I think I got right so far:

1. My boyfriend. I have the greatest privilege in the world to be able to wake up every morning next to a man who loves me and supports me and my growth as a person. Someone who's always been there for me, who I look up to as the most intelligent, funny and loving person I've ever met. And if I play my cards right, I get to spend the rest of my life with him.

2. My job. I work in a contact centre for an organisation I've grown to love deeply. I love the people I work with, I like the job I do because it's so varied, fast-paced and loud. And because my bosses let me run with my creative side and come up with team-building challenges and whimsical things to boost morale. I may not have the grandest, most exciting job in the world, but I enjoy showing up for work every day and that's no small feat.

3. A house. Four days before I turned 30 we got the keys to our dream house. To say that our house is so very close to perfect is something that fills me with joy and pride. It is our love nest and I can see our whole future, with all its fulfilled dreams, coming true here. Every day when I walk through the entrance door and look around and I realise how lucky I am.

4. A few achievements when it comes to overcoming fear. I am a fearful person. Growing up in the midst of several family crisis and being raised by old people can do that to a person. So I was scared of everything. Everything. And in the past couple of years I've decided I am done with fear and it's time to see the world as an exciting adventure instead of a twisted sequence of death traps. So far I rode a camel through the desert dunes (scared of heights), I've survived an escape room experience (scared of horror movies), I've walked/climbed the Old Man of Storr in the Scotland (heights again), I've forced myself to go on one of many climbing sessions to get rid of my fear of heights and I've just got my first tattoo done (scared of being in pain). And I didn't die. And what's more, it all felt thrilling and joyous!

5. Early rising. I've always been a night owl and have always hated getting up in the morning. And then about a year ago things changed. I decided to finally be honest with myself and admit that I will never - ever! - go to the gym after work. It just won't happen; I'll be too tired, or too grumpy, or I'll have just remembered something I need to pick up on my way home and the store will be closed by the time I leave the gym, so I'll just cut the gym altogether. The stream of excuses is endless. So I realised that the only way I could make it to the gym consistently was if I did it before I did everything else and allowed life to get in the way. And so I just did it. I put my alarm to bonkers early (that's the official time) and was so utterly annoyed at myself when it went off that I thought I might as well make something of it. So I would get up and go to the gym, or meditate, or do something productive before work. And it stuck!


So there you go! I'm not saying my life is a rosy patch, but I'll say it's not completely doom and gloom either. There is a long (long, long, looooooong) road ahead to get me where I want to go, and the only way to get there is to tread it one step at a time. As Bob Marley puts it My feet are my only carriage. It's time to dust off my walking boots then.

The wonderful road awaits!

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