When work takes over your life.
It has been a while. This may have been the longest break I’ve taken since the blog was established and trust me, I am not exactly proud of that. Though lately I have been contemplating my absence from EGBT.
I am someone who has always prided themselves on creativity, freedom of thought and always having an idea so, imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning and realised I no longer have an imagination. Trust me it was scary! To go from someone whose head is always in the clouds to somebody without a single original thought in mind. How would you handle it? Naturally I freaked out, I felt weird. As a child I could create entire characters, images, storylines, settings, plots, adventures right off the top of my head. When did that come to an end? I began to ask myself. Has adulthood ruined my imagination forever? I sincerely hope not. These days I have started a battle to find inspiration. I am reading books, visiting art galleries again, trying to write and get back into movie watching, all the things which can help to develop one’s imagination. I’ve done puzzles, played card games, spent time in nature and I am starting to see a small improvement but nothing like how I was before.
The single biggest change in my life I came to realise, was having a real 9-5 job for the first time in my life. Working from the moment I wake up until evening leaves me feeling exhausted and drained day after day. Make no mistake, I do like my job, but I am working for someone else and that does not do much for inspiring your own dreams. I have always been very fortunate to be able to survive as a part time worker through school and university. This flexibility always allowed me time for my own pursuits but something I haven’t learned yet is to juggle hobbies with a steady job. I am hoping to take control and bring back hobbies which make me happy and keep me feeling fulfilled, but I also need to remember not to be hard on myself. I am sure all adults feel this way when they start working. There’s no need to feel ashamed for going through a slump and feeling like your life has come to revolve around your work.
It’s a work in progress and I am getting better everyday. Work life balance is a constant dance and it looks different for everyone. That is something worth remembering.
image by @sadswim
