I was thinking the other day about starting my new job this week.
We have all had moments when we think “I can’t wait until…” You know what I’m talking about. Maybe it’s a concert for a band you love, a birthday party you’ve been anticipating for weeks, or your favorite holiday is coming up.
When these things come up, we all tend to say “I can’t wait until that happens.” We wish our lives away, hours, days, weeks, or even months. When we were younger, we’d wish away years of our lives, thinking we’d have it made when we got to be eighteen.
There are times when we understandably want it to just pass. Some things are incredibly difficult to savor, like car accidents, sick loved ones, or even the passing of someone dear to us. I can’t say you should treasure those moments. They suck. The closest you can come to that is probably to not suffer alone. Find others that hurt and be with them. Maybe you talk about it, maybe you don’t, but not being alone helps the pain.
All the other times in life, though, don’t wish them away. Enjoy the big things in life, but also take the time to enjoy the small things. Enjoy your child interrupting your work or hobby time. That one is a hard one for me. Sometimes I’m working on something, and my jealous one year old insists on sitting on my lap and pushing the computer away. It annoys me. Then I stop to think. She isn’t as little as she used to be. She will grow up, with or without me.
Those little moments come and go, just like the big ones. Don’t let yourself get so busy or take yourself so seriously that you miss them. Relax. Take a little time to let out your inner child. Go do something crazy and new. Stop worrying about looking or feeling silly. Go out of town for your shenanigans if you feel that’s what you have to do, but do it. You can’t be you if you’re too worried about what others think or if you get so busy you lose track of where the separation of who you are versus what you do is.
I’m starting a new job this week, largely because I realized that public accounting was too demanding on my schedule. I decided that if a job forced me to choose between my family or it, I had to make a change. It wasn’t really my bosses’ fault. It was just the nature of the business. I believe we parted on good terms, and I hope they feel the same. I was just finding it harder to stop and smell the roses, as they say.
If you are too busy to feel alive, look for opportunities to slow down a little.