Very much like this blog in fact.
When this blog was being updated the most regularly I had a steady if slightly boring job and not much of an outlet for my creative juices. I channelled these efforts into cycling, running and a bit of writing on here and all was well.
But Real Life gets under the feet.
Since I started my own business two years ago I have piled all of my physical and creative energies into it. This left very little in the way of bandwidth (again, both physical and mental) for personal writing and exercise.
Not necessarily a bad thing?
So, Self employment has taken over more of my life than I expected. In an unhealthy way? I'm on the fence on that one. "Health" has many metrics, not just physical ones.
I've never enjoyed my job as much as this. In terms of the intellectual challenge, getting to meet and work with so many different companies and people, and in general job satisfaction it ticks all the boxes.
In terms of the effort required and time spent making everything happen, including working most evenings and some weekends? Well, I'm not so hot on that one. The key is finding the balance. I'm working on it...
They say "if you enjoy your job you'll never work a day in your life." This is horse shit. More like "if you love your job you'll spend all waking hours doing it or thinking about it and worrying that you aren't doing it well enough." Cos I do.
On balance, I've enjoyed the journey so far with self employment but I do need to re-balance my activities slightly to have more time for family, friends and getting out on the hills.
A question of commitment
Running a business seems analogous to parenting. It is simultaneously one of the hardest yet most rewarding thing you can do. You are caring for something that needs a lot of looking after but that gives a lot in return (livelihood, intellectual stimulation, fun).
The same seems to be true for so many things in life; there are great rewards available when one is committed to a goal.
The more you put in, the more you get out.
You often see people, especially on their CVs or platforms like LinkedIn describe themselves as "goal oriented". Whilst this partly sounds like management speak it points towards something deeper. Perhaps a recognition that we are all seeking something in our lives. That we are all goal oriented to some extent?
Consider Maslow's heirarchy of needs for instance. This lays down so many of the goals we have, from pure survival and safety through to self esteem and self actualisation. These are both sub-conscious and conscious, animal and rational.
I am goal oriented. Perhaps more than I feel comfortable admitting. Unless I have something to aim for, a specific event or achievement, I can drift a little, coast a little. Some things suffer a little in this drift too.
Hello, Drift Removal Services, how may I help?
In this case, in the pursuit of a secure and successful livelihood and intellectual satisfaction that my work gives me, my fitness has suffered. But I like being fit and active (endorphins pls). In order to regain this, I need a goal to counteract the drift.
Last year I committed to cycle 1000 miles otherwise I'd have to give £100 to UKIP. I succeeded and promptly stopped cycling once the mileage had been reached! Bloody typical. Is this how my brain works? Fine, I'll play the game of Always Have A Goal...
Running again
Getting back into running is high on the list as, for me at least, is a challenging discipline. Certainly I get plenty of fitness bang for my buck even from a short run. I'm not fast by any stretch of the imagination but I can go far. Plus, running gets you to places cycling can't.
So I'm looking at marathon-plus distance races later this year to see what tickles my fancy. Currently the Hardmoors 60 is looking very tempting!
Watch this space for updates.
I've got new running shoes and everything.
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