A Quick Update
It’s been a hectic time in my life. As some of you know, I got offered a job in and out of Fiji.
In preparation for this job, I spent the last few months reminding myself how to fly an aeroplane. That included returning to Hong Kong for a simulator check to renew my license.
What was the result of all this hard work? Well, I turned down the Fiji job. Which is anticlimactic given everything I’ve sacrificed.
However, the 2 weeks in Hong Kong gave my wife and I a glimpse of what life would be like with me away for nearly 3 weeks every month. As my wife said, “I don’t believe it’s in the best interest of our marriage or our family.”
Happily, there’s been ANOTHER opportunity. This is for a job based out of Singapore. I was contacted shortly before I went out to Hong Kong.
So, at the same time as everything else, I’ve been busy working towards that. I’m happy to report that I just got offered that job. I start next year.
In the meantime, I plan to enjoy a well-earned break over Christmas.
The Honest Truth
Anyway, it’s for all of the above that blogging has found itself at the bottom of the pile. In fact, it hasn’t even been part of the pile.
I told myself to shelve it – to get my priorities straight first. To do what my family needs, not only what I want.
Can I be brutally honest with you? I haven’t missed it very much. For a while, I had no desire to return to my writing ways.
That has been odd. Previously, I’ve felt a strong urge to return whenever I’ve taken a break. I’ve also felt more peaceful than I have in a long while.
The question is, why? Why haven’t I missed something I claim to love so much? Why has my absence from blogging corresponded with an increase in contentment? Is it not meant to be? Am I meant for a different path?
I often go through these cycles. It will start with a strong burst of enthusiasm. The proverbial apple will fall on my head, and I’ll write prolifically.
I’ll enjoy it, of course. But then it will take over. I can’t switch it off. I start to get overwhelmed by my own thoughts. I become increasingly distracted.
I’ll be playing with my kids – trying to give them some undivided attention (AKA love) – when an idea comes to mind. I’ll then tell them to “give me a minute” while I jot it down.
If my children had a dollar for every minute they’ve given me… They would be millionaires on paper but impoverished where it matters.
This is what happens. I end up pushing everything else to the side. Eventually, slowly, I find myself drowning under the weight of my untended responsibilities.
And what does this do for my writing? Because I say the write things, but I don’t act that way. I don’t put my money where my mouth is.
That strips the very meaning from those words. The so-called advice I give to others about getting their shit together. When the truth is, I’ve been falling woefully short myself.
This, eventually, causes me to lose motivation.
What I’ve Learnt
I realise talk is cheap. It’s easy to sit down and say the right thing. It’s far more challenging to act that way in real life. If talk is cheap, action is expensive.
Ultimately, integrity is about the alignment of both. My alignment has been off.
Part of the reason is because I’ve placed writing at the top of the pile. I’ve told myself that word proceeds with action. This is the big revelation from my time away. I’ve had it the wrong way around.
I’ll never stop writing. I do love it. When I take a break, I always come back. But only after I’ve taken care of the things I need and should. Only once I’ve cleared my conscience.
When that happens, the words hold far greater meaning – far greater weight. That’s because those words are backing up the actions I’ve already taken.
People tend to talk in terms of backing up their words with action. But what if we did the opposite? What if we all took an action-first approach? What if we held off from saying the right thing until we actually do it for ourselves?
For me, writing works well at the bottom of the pile. I’m ok with that, provided it’s not discarded entirely.
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Psst! I wrote a free ebook called Unlocking Personality. Feel free to check out if you want to learn more about who you are and what to do about it.