Well it looks remarkably like I have managed to find the time to engage in the most engagey of all of the engagement initiatives on Hive!
Obviously, I mean The weekend experiences community, weekend topic posting prompts offered by the G-dog himself Mr galenkp.
Of the plethora of blog prompts offered up this week, I chose one that I am actually having to think seriously about in my life right now:
🔹You lost your job and have no income.
Hmmm.. Funny you should mention that...
Hmmm. Such synchronicity... I have been turning this exact blog life prompt over in my mind a LOT of late as it looks as though my health vs 12 hour shifts [especially night shifts] ongoing battle may draw to a forced conclusion in the very near future...
If I woke up tomorrow to find myself in this quandary for real, my first reaction is one that would cause me to beat myself about the head with a wet fish for at least half of the day...
Why did I wait till the decision was taken out of my hands to act and pursue my goals???
Truth be told, I have felt that way for quite some time anyway and wish I had forced myself in to action, although confusion, fear and lack of clarity has always been behind this inertia. I have been fully aware of this, add to this the health factors over the past decade ort so and circumstances were far less than perfect.
I suspect if my job safety net was ripped away, it would focus my mind in a 'shit got real' kind of way that would probably be the making of me.
Probably... Maybe... I hope!!!
dreams mental-health
health
I would sit down with a coffee and write an overly simplistic inventory of my skills, goals and accountability strategies that I could implement RATHER than go straight to the 'looking for another job' option.
Next, I would try and add a little meat to the bones of this very basic plan, fleshing it out a little more to see if it looked even 'minimally' practical/actionable. I would talk over the first draft of a plan with m'lady to see if she thought I was being realistic or simply seeing what I want to see.
She would be the perfect person to share this with as she would be as brutally honest as I need her to be while simultaneously being my biggest fan and wanting only the very best for me. I do mean the best for ME before contemplating the best for US. She really is bloody magnificent!
Next I would make a 'bare minimum' list of action steps and checkpoints that I would need to hit each and EVERY single day to stay on track to make enough money to get us by until income was regular enough to think about the rest of my life.
The last step that needs to go hand in hand with everything I have stated thus far: what can I do to make money right now, today, tomorrow, this week to keep the wolf from the door? Would I cut lawns, dog walk, eBay?
This may all sound a little juvenile and not a very 'grown up' strategy for a guy who is about to turn 51 but I am what I am and I know this would be my exact action list as it is the one I have been working on while being sick from work this past month!!!
I have a couple more weeks of sick pay left before I need to face up to some all to 'grown up' choices, just between you and I, it would seem that the risk to my health by resuming work in my current condition would be more of a gamble than I should take:
BUT MONEY AND REAL LIFE, RIGHT?
There is one aspect of all this pipe dreamery that I worry about most of all. What if I don't follow through with the things I say I will???
Can I trust myself?
I wish the answer to that question was abso-bloody-lutely obvious, I want it to be, but I am at the whim of my physical AND mental health more than I would hope recently, it is a genuine worry.
I guess you will find out at the same time as I do in the coming weeks and months as this is my EXACT plan.
I'm sure that many of you share the same nagging doubts that tug at the very core of your beliefs as I do. I genuinely want to believe in me but don't always feel as confident as I would hope to.
My posts have a habit of becoming incredibly introspective, it's almost as though when I write a post I am throwing words, ideas and concepts at a sounding board to see what emerges from all that idea slinging.
Thank you so much for the prompt Galen, it has focussed my thoughts in a very necessary way.
I HOPE the next chapter of my life is as fulfilling and rewarding as I know it CAN be. I need to be as solid, dynamic and dependable as I can in order to make my life what I want it to be, working a job that I believe WILL kill me in the next few years is not a viable option. It certainly SHOULDN'T be, right?
Wow! 2 posts in 2 days... This has gotta be a turning point, right? I think that is about half of what I managed over the last 12 months!!!
Thank YOU for taking the time to read my post and if you're one of those amazing people who like to hit the comments section... Then I doubly thank YOU!
Either way I want you to know that you are appreciated!
Keep taking the time to connect with each-other both here and in the 'so-called' real world and try and look after each-other, because as you already know...
Losing one's job can be devastating to a person and family from any perspectives, including financial of course; however there's other issues that arise and sometimes it's those that can cause the most problems. Of course, it can be a time to rediscover oneself, work on oneself a little and re-energise which often leads to much better opportunities down the track.
I hope things are generally well, thanks for dropping in.
Thanks awesome dude. You have no idea how many times I have been half way through a post for WE, I have an open tab with a huge coffee related comment for a short prompt you ran a couple of weeks back in another window lol. I am thrilled to have finally made it to the posting stage after a couple of tech upgrades that stopped my pc from crashing while I am writing.
Moreover, I am glad I found some time to re engage with the blockchain as a vital part of my sanity is anchored to writing, not doing so has taken a huge toll akin to a seized valve that cannot open.
Astute and perceptive as ever my friend. I foresee a bumpy short term road ahead that leads to an amazing destination that must be earned.
I am very grateful to have the chance to cross paths again man and WILL be doing so, much more, in the future. I thought of you often throughout the ashes, never has an Aussie been so glad for the English weather lol.
Hope Monday is a stunning start to the week, and that the week evolves to be quite magnificent as it unfolds before you. 😎
Bumpy roads build character right? I'd had my own, more than a few too.
It'll be good to see you a little more active if that's how it works out for you, although make sure you focus on what's important.
Have a great week.
51? That's way too ancient for the aul 12-hour shifts. Sure you're practically geriatric!🙃
Haha! You, [word for word], sound like the little voice that lives inside my head 🤣
You would be utterly amazed at how many of your words I have read over the last 2 days. The expertly crafted juxtaposition of humour and what can only be disguised at times as harrowing intertwined is a curious but addictive combination.
See you real soon 😎
Oh crikey, say it ain't so! Where do I send the straitjacket?
If there's one thing I do not need, it is another one of those!
But I have them in extra-large!
Oof... The bar has been significantly lowered...
That was not just below the ((incredibly cirumferencey)) belt, It was in an entirely separate post-code.
Expect me
Sinister music plays as a slightly rotund man less than elegantly backs, wheezing, out of the comment section
Hey man, good to stumble upon your post! I haven't kept up with you in a while, going to look what you've been up to after finishing the comment here.
This is a tough quandry but these days, it's something that so many of us have in the back of our mind. I think that I'm lucky in that I've got a few different things I've got going for a "job". I know what you mean though, coming up with a plan and tossing the thoughts by the better half is crucial! I know mine would be the same, honest and an important person in the whole discussion and topic. With the things companies are doing these days, it's never a bad thing to think about what would happen if we found ourselves out of a job one day.
12 hour shifts, particularly night shifts, are indeed very difficult. I've done a number of those in my days that's for sure! My worst one was 24 hours straight. It was utterly miserable lol. I was so lucky in that I got a break to sleep a little bit between the batches of work. I was fucking delirious by the time I got home though, I'm so lucky that I was riding the train at the time so I could snooze a tiny bit on the way back. If I had to drive after that, I likely would have just slept in my truck for an hour or two so that it wasn't a life threatening situation lol
Yeah the crazy hours we sometimes undertake can seem insane with hindsight. The train was a good idea, I have a lot of colleagues who have fallen asleep while driving after a 7-7 nightshift, it's scary stuff.
I think it is the combination of intensity of work, age and health that have made it utterly infeasible to continue. I have a feeling my world is about to open up in massive, unexpected ways. I suspect I will see some difficult times, especially financially at the start.
I just have this feeling though, that if I can get my health stuff under control I am about start an incredible journey.
Thanks so much for the time, words and encouragement my friend. I really appreciate you 😎