Your career does define who you are.
I’m going to repeat that for myself, your career does not define who you are.
It’s no surprise that I’ve struggled tremendously with burnout in recent years. And then it hit me recently that I’m not really doing anything for myself for play anymore. It’s work, study for real estate (reminder, time to actually do that again), sleep, maybe gym, work, study, sleep, gym, rinse and repeat.
I haven’t been doing anything for play, for fun. And I’ve been missing that play aspect.
For me, it’s taking time to do things I enjoy, with no ulterior motives, simply doing them because I enjoy them.
It doesn’t matter what that looks like. It doesn’t matter if I’m good at it, if it relates at all to my career, or potential career pivot. It just needs to be fun.
I did it with my food photography, until I started gaining too many lbs and had to stop ;)
I do it with autocross, because let’s be real, I don’t care about winning a jacket.
I do it with this thing; I don’t have a target audience, I don’t post consistently, I don’t follow a specific format. I write, when I want to write, about what I want to write, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Honestly, I’ll likely just continue playing with it to suit what I need and want out of it.
I want to do it with bringing back our women’s sim racing league.
I want to play in flipping houses, from designing a remodel to doing the interior design.
I want to learn tennis. And play more pickleball (said after playing literally once).
I want to learn video editing, for no other reason than I just think it could be fun. And I have this creative itch I need to do something with.
I want to play with fashion, and teaching myself how to dress better (thanks, swimming + private school uniform life).
None of these are related to my current career. None of them are what I want to do for my career. None, other than flipping houses, are methods in which I can make money with. They are activities that push me out of my comfort zone. Activities that help me learn something new. Activities that allow me to have fun.
So, as my reminder to myself, and to you, if you need it, [[all 3 of you ;)]], don’t forget to play. To have fun. To enjoy life. To not talk yourself out of something because of what other people might think. I hate to quote Nike, but literally, just do it.
xx.